Low Ju Yee Cassandra, Sivanandy Palanisamy, Ingle Pravinkumar Vishwanath, Manirajan Priya
Department of Pharmacy Practice, School of Pharmacy, IMU University, Kuala Lumpur, 57000, Malaysia.
BMC Pediatr. 2025 Aug 22;25(1):638. doi: 10.1186/s12887-025-06016-6.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are commonly prescribed to pediatric patients, but inappropriate use can lead to adverse health outcomes. Therefore, a study was conducted to analyse the prescribing patterns and drug-related problems (DRPs) associated with NSAIDs among pediatric patients at a private tertiary care hospital in Malaysia.
This single-centre, ambidirectional cohort study was conducted at a private tertiary care hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from January 2024 to March 2025. Pediatric patients under 18 years old who were prescribed NSAIDs were included in the study. Data was collected from the patient's prescriptions and clinical progress notes.
A total of 1958 pediatric prescriptions were analysed. The mean age of patients prescribed NSAIDs was 8.26 ± 5.08 years (Median: 8 years, IQR: 8.75). Of the 1958 patient visits, 882 (45.05%) were to pediatricians, and 803 (41.01%) were to the emergency department. A total of 2072 NSAIDs were prescribed, with the majority (94.48%; p < 0.001) of prescriptions containing only one NSAID. The most common reason for prescribing NSAIDs was pain (63.18%). Ibuprofen was the most commonly prescribed NSAID for both male and female patients (n = 1216, 58.94%), followed by Diclofenac (n = 270, 12.75%) and Celecoxib (n = 218, 10.57%). Age was significantly associated with the type of NSAID prescribed (p < 0.001). A total of 405 potential DRPs were identified. Ibuprofen had the highest number of potential DRPs (n = 193, p < 0.001) due to its high usage, followed by Diclofenac (n = 142) and Celecoxib (n = 16).
Ibuprofen was the most commonly prescribed NSAID for pediatric patients, primarily for painful inflammatory conditions, leading to an increase in drug-related complications. While the prescribing pattern of NSAIDs appears appropriate, there is a rising trend in drug-related complications. Structured educational intervention programmes are needed to improve the prescribing pattern of NSAIDs in healthcare settings and ensure the safety of pediatric patients.
非甾体抗炎药（NSAIDs）常用于儿科患者，但不当使用可能导致不良健康后果。因此，开展了一项研究，以分析马来西亚一家私立三级护理医院儿科患者中与NSAIDs相关的处方模式和药物相关问题（DRPs）。
这项单中心、双向队列研究于2024年1月至2025年3月在马来西亚吉隆坡的一家私立三级护理医院进行。研究纳入了开具NSAIDs处方的18岁以下儿科患者。数据从患者的处方和临床病程记录中收集。
共分析了1958份儿科处方。开具NSAIDs处方的患者平均年龄为8.26±5.08岁（中位数：8岁，四分位距：8.75）。在1958次患者就诊中，882次（45.05%）是看儿科医生，803次（41.01%）是去急诊科。共开具了2072剂NSAIDs，大多数处方（94.48%；p<0.001）只包含一种NSAIDs。开具NSAIDs的最常见原因是疼痛（63.18%）。布洛芬是男性和女性患者最常开具的NSAIDs（n = 1216，58.94%），其次是双氯芬酸（n = 270，12.75%）和塞来昔布（n = 218，10.57%）。年龄与所开具的NSAIDs类型显著相关（p<0.001）。共识别出405个潜在的DRPs。由于布洛芬使用量高，其潜在DRPs数量最多（n = 193，p<0.001），其次是双氯芬酸（n = 142）和塞来昔布（n = 16）。
布洛芬是儿科患者最常开具的NSAIDs，主要用于疼痛性炎症疾病，导致药物相关并发症增加。虽然NSAIDs的处方模式似乎合理，但药物相关并发症呈上升趋势。需要开展结构化教育干预项目，以改善医疗机构中NSAIDs的处方模式，并确保儿科患者的安全。
