The BNFc recommends age-banded dosing for children prescribed oral paracetamol for non-post operative pain. This was recently challenged by Kirstie Wright and her colleagues following their study published in Archives of Disease in Childhood.  Evaluation of age-banded dosing of oral paracetamol in hospitalised children: a retrospective analysis using clinical data in a tertiary paediatric hospital | Archives of Disease in Childhood (bmj.com)

In this episode, Dr Felicity Cooksey meets with Ceri Gaskell, a specialist pharmacist at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, to explore the debate.

Resources:

·      Oral paracetamol dosing in hospitalised children in the UK | Archives of Disease in Childhood (bmj.com)

·      Paracetamol | Drugs | BNFC |NICE

·      A model for size and age changes in the pharmacokinetics of paracetamol in neonates, infants and children - PMC (nih.gov)

·      UKMIQA-drug-dosing-in-childhood-obesity-1.docx (live.com)

·      Medicine dosing in childhood obesity | RCPCH

Ceri’s Favourite Book: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen