Half of 560 drug labels in 2009 lacked proper dosage and safety information for children, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and reported by Reuters.
Researchers sought to determine the impact of federal efforts aimed at improving dosing and safety information for pediatric drugs. To accomplish this, they analyzed the labels of 560 different medications. The final analysis showed 231 drugs were properly labeled with dosing and safety information, while another 29 medication had proper dosing information for some younger age groups but not all.
This means more than half (54 percent) of studied drugs lacked information to guide dosing and medication safety among children. The researchers also noted lack of information was most frequent among drugs for less-common pediatric conditions such as cancer and heart disease.
Researchers sought to determine the impact of federal efforts aimed at improving dosing and safety information for pediatric drugs. To accomplish this, they analyzed the labels of 560 different medications. The final analysis showed 231 drugs were properly labeled with dosing and safety information, while another 29 medication had proper dosing information for some younger age groups but not all.
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This means more than half (54 percent) of studied drugs lacked information to guide dosing and medication safety among children. The researchers also noted lack of information was most frequent among drugs for less-common pediatric conditions such as cancer and heart disease.
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