Pediatric pharmacy

The benefits of having a clinical pharmacist within a pediatric practice setting have been documented in several different ways. Reducing medication errors and patient costs have been the primary methods by which new or additional pediatric pharmacy positions have been justified.In 1987, Folli and colleagues published... 

Journal of Pediatric Pharmacology and Therapeutics (formerly The Journal of Pediatric Pharmacy Practice)... 

Jiang, Q.S. 2003. Effects of anoxia and/or aglycaemia on the release of free calcium and amino acids from rat brain synaptosomes. Journal of Pediatric Pharmacy 9(4) 8-10. 

Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, and Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Man., Canada... 

Quinacrine 100 mg three times in adults or 5 mg/kg per day in pediatric patients for 5 to 7 days, is available from a specialized pharmacy (e.g., Ponorama Compounding Pharmacy).3... 

Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice University of Oklahoma College of Pharmacy Clinical Pediatric Specialist Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Chapter 65 Sickle Cell Disease... 

First Tennessee Chair of Excellence in Pediatric Clinical Pharmacy Associate Professor and Vice Chair for Research Department of Clinical Pharmacy... 

A pediatric patient was presented to the emergency room (ER) experiencing seizures for which 150-mg Cerebyx (fosphenytoin anticonvulsant) IV was ordered. The pharmacy technician took the call for Cerebyx and delivered three 10-mL vials of Cerebyx 50-mg PE (phenytoin sodium equivalents) per mL to the ER as a floor stock transaction. A nurse misread the 50-mg PE/mL on the 10-mL container label, making the assumption that the entire vial contained 50 mg PE. The contents of all three vials were prepared for administration. Instead of 150 mg PE, the patient was administered ten times the intended dose, or 1,500 mg PE. The patient later died. The ER staff only discovered the error after the patient s blood phenytoin levels were returned from the laboratory. 

Professor and Chairman, Ivey Chair in Molecular Toxicology, University of Western Ontario Director, The Motherisk Program, Professor of Pediatrics, Pharmacology, Pharmacy, Medicine, and Medical Genetics, The University of Toronto Senior Scientist, The Research Institute, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto... 

Compliance may be more difficult to achieve in pediatric practice than otherwise, since it involves not only the parent s conscientious effort to follow directions but also such practical matters as measuring errors, spilling, and spitting out. For example, the measured volume of teaspoons" ranges from 2.5 to 7.8 ml. The parents should obtain a calibrated medicine spoon or syringe from the pharmacy. These devices improve the accuracy of dose measurements and simplify administration of drugs to children. 

Target market. The market where the pharmacy is located will affect product selection. A pharmacy located in a children s hospital will need different products than a pharmacy located in a mental health facility. Likewise, a community pharmacy located next to a pediatric clinic likely will need more liquid antibiotics than other pharmacies. Prescribing behaviors of area physicians can provide insight into what drug products are needed. 

Last year Dr. Brouchard s wife was offered a job opportunity in Phoenix. While he loved his job in Chicago, his wife s opportunity was too good to pass up, and he knew that there were plenty of pharmacist jobs in the Phoenix area. He arranged a transfer to another pharmacy in his chain that was located in Sun City (a suburb just northwest of Phoenix). When he arrived, he was anxious to further develop the pediatric services he had started in Chicago. He convinced his pharmacy manager to purchase special equipment to teach children how to monitor their asthma, to remodel the pharmacy to include a private counseling area, and to spend money promoting these services in the local community. 

With this in mind, Dr. Brouchard thought of some ideas for value-added pharmacy services that he could pursue. While his pediatric asthma service was not successful, perhaps he could offer the same service to an adult population. He had seen a report on the local news mentioning that the prevalence of asthma had increased greatly in their area over the last several years. Like many other pharmacies serving patients of the baby boom generation and older, his pharmacy dispensed many prescriptions for hypertension and... 

The pharmacy already had a private counseling area, and he figured that he could use some of the resources he had obtained for the pediatric asthma service for a diabetes service. When he told his pharmacy manager about his idea, she seemed excited, especially given the potential for the service to attract new customers to the pharmacy. She did stress that her budget to support this service was limited and that he would have to provide more financial projections that she could share with her district manager before she could commit to support the service. 

JOB REQUIREMENTS Ability to work independently with minimal direct supervision. Ability to work with hospital and pharmacy staff. Ability to handle frequent interruptions and adapt to changes in workload and work schedule. Ability to set priorities, make critical decisions, and respond quickly to emergency requests. Ability to exercise sound professional judgement. Ability to meet the pharmaceutical care needs of neonatal, pediatric, adolescent, adult, and geriatric patients. 

Penny has been involved with a wide range of clinical studies in children with liver disease. These include several that relate to pharmacokinetics, in both liver disease and after liver transplantation. She has presented her research work and given lectures and workshops at national and international congresses, including the International Pediatric Transplant Association, the European Society of Clinical Pharmacy and the Neonatal and Paediatric Pharmacists Group (NPPG) conferences. 

SIGs represent a subsection of the membership that form on their own or are created by the board to address specific inferesfs. Examples in pharmacy associations include SIGs for specialfy practice areas, such as pediatrics, home care or home infusion, and management. 

ELORA HILMAS, PharmD/BCPS Pediatric Clinical Specialist, Pharmacy Practice Residency Coordinator, Alfred I. du Pont Hospital for Children, 1600 Rocldand Road, Wilmington, DE 19803, USA... 

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