Drug prescription pattern in European neonatal units

Background: Hospitalized neonates receive the highest number of drugs compared to all other age groups, but consumption rates vary between studies depending on patient characteristics and local practices. There are no large scale international studies on drug use in neonatal units. We aimed to describe drug use in European neonatal units and characterize its associations with geographic region and gestational age (GA). Methods: A one-day point prevalence study (PPS) was performed as part of the European Study of Neonatal Exposure to Excipients (ESNEE) from January to June 2012. All neonatal prescriptions and demographic data were registered in a web-based database. The impact of GA and region on prescription rate were analyzed with logistic regression. Results: In total, 21 European countries with 89 neonatal units participated. Altogether 2173 prescriptions given to 726 neonates were registered. The 10 drugs with the highest prescription rate were multivitamins, vitamin D, caffeine, gentamicin, amino acids for parenteral nutrition, phytomenadione, ampicillin, benzylpenicillin, fat emulsion for parenteral nutrition and probiotics. The six most commonly prescribed ATC groups (alimentary tract and metabolism, blood and blood-form...Continue Reading