[Drug prescribing for 0-12-year-old children in Norway].

The first part of a project initiated at the Department of Pharmacotherapeutics, University of Oslo, on use of drugs in the treatment of children involved a study of prescriptions in September 1986. All pharmacies in the country were asked to record all drugs prescribed to 0-12 year old children during one week. 87 per cent of all Norwegian pharmacies took part in the study and data were recorded for 7587 prescribed drugs. Drug prescribing was highest in the county of Hedmark, and lowest in the county of Troms. For the age group 0-10 years 23 per cent more drugs were prescribed to boys than to girls. Infants (0-1 year) were prescribed drugs ten times more often than the oldest children. 3 per cent of the infants (0-1 year) were prescribed drugs during the week the study took place. More than 43 per cent of the total prescriptions were for drugs for the respiratory organs. Anti-asthmatics comprised the largest subgroup (796 prescribed drugs). Boys were prescribed 65 per cent more anti-asthmatics than girls. Every 20th of the total prescriptions was for an oral decongestant. There are few rational reasons for prescribing drugs in this group. As a single group, systemic antibiotics were the drugs most often prescribed, and accounted for as much as 30 per cent of the total prescriptions. The observed choice of antibiotics does not seem to agree with Norwegian recommendations.