Paediatrics

Aberdeenshire children become young medicines safety champions

Aberdeenshire schoolchildren have been trained as young medicines safety champions, thanks to a new programme organised by Robert Gordon University…

More to be done to support children from black and ethnic minority backgrounds in medicines adherence and optimisation

The article ‘Communicating with parents and involving children in medicines optimisation’ written by Ashifa Trivedi and published in The Pharmaceutical Journal (2017;299(7906):231­–234) was an enjoyable and thought-provoking read, especially while I embark on a PhD conce…

‘Problem’ excipients: be cautious when making clinical decisions on formulation

We are writing in response to the article ‘How to identify and manage ‘problem’ excipients in medicines for children’, written by Sara Arthur and Anna Burgess and published in The Pharmaceutical Journal (2017;299(7903):42­–45). The article helpfully raises aw…

‘Pill School’ project launched to teach children how to swallow tablets

Charity Pharmacy Research UK and the Evelina London Children’s Hospital are launching a project to help teach young patients to take tablets and capsules.…

How to recognise and respond to potential child abuse and neglect

In October 2017, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published guidance to support health and social care professionals in recognising and responding to abuse and neglect in young people aged under 18 years. Pharmacists and pharmacy teams should be aware of their roles an…

Mandatory public health services provided by local authorities to be reviewed

Pharmacists have called for local needs analyses to be carried out on what additional services individual communities require…

EMA launches two initiatives to improve medicine provision

EMA will hold a workshop with the European Commission on paediatric medicine to find out how better to apply paediatric legislation to boost development of medicines for children…

Fructose increases risk of childhood asthma, independent of obesity

A study of 1,068 mother-child pairs has shown that high fructose intake increases risk of mid-childhood asthma…

Give honey and lemon, not OTC cough medicines, to children with coughs, says leading paediatrician

Children with troublesome coughs should be treated with ‘old-fashioned’ honey and lemon rather than over-the-counter cough medicines, a leading paediatrician has advised…

All Scottish babies should have vitamin D supplement, CMO says

All babies in Scotland should be given a daily supplement of vitamin D until they are one to help prevent rickets and poor bone health, according to new national guidelines…