Epidemiology of Polypharmacy and Potential Drug-Drug Interactions Among Pediatric Patients in ICUs of U.S. Children's Hospitals.

Objectives: Polypharmacy is common in hospitalized children in the United States and has been identified as a major risk factor for exposure to potential drug-drug interactions. Little is known about the characteristics and prevalence of exposure of pediatric patients to polypharmacy and potential drug-drug interactions in PICUs. Design: Retrospective cohort study using the Pediatric Health Information System database. Setting: Forty-two freestanding children's hospitals throughout the United States. Patients: A total of 54,549 patients less than 18 years old cared for in PICUs in 2011. Patients in neonatal ICUs were not included. Measurements and Main Results: PICU patients were on average exposed to 10 distinct drugs each hospital day and to 20 drugs cumulatively during their hospitalization. Seventy-five percent of patients were exposed to greater than or equal to one potential drug-drug interaction regardless of severity level, 6% to greater than or equal to one contraindicated potential drug-drug interaction, 69% to greater than or equal to one major potential drug-drug interaction, 57% to greater than or equal to one moderate potential drug-drug interaction, 19% to greater than or equal to one minor potential drug-drug interaction. Potential drug-drug interaction exposures were significantly associated with specific diagnoses (p

from Emergency Medicine via xlomafota13 on Inoreader http://ift.tt/1UUx09V