Manipulation of oral medication for children by parents and nurses occurs frequently and is often not supported by instructions.

AIM: Due to a lack of age-appropriate formulations, administration of drugs to children remains a challenge. This study aimed to identify the problems experienced in both the outpatient setting and the clinical setting.

METHODS: Between June 2017 and January 2018, we performed a cross-sectional, prospective study at the Sophia Children's Hospital, The Netherlands. The study comprised of a structured interview on drug manipulations with parents visiting the outpatient clinic, and an observational study of drug manipulations by nurses at the wards.

RESULTS: A total of 201 questionnaires were collected, accounting for 571 drugs and 169 manipulations (30%). Drug substances that were most often mentioned as manipulated were macrogol (n = 23), esomeprazole (n = 15), paracetamol (n = 8), methylphenidate (n = 7) and melatonin (n = 7). Of all manipulated medicines, 93/169 (55%) were manipulated according to the instructions or recommendations of the Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) or patient information leaflet. During the observational study, manipulation was performed by 21/35 of observed nurses (60%), of whom 11 deviated from the hospital protocol for manipulation or SmPC (52%).

CONCLUSION: Manipulation was a widely used method to administer drugs to children. Validated information regarding manipulation of drugs for both parents and nursing staff is needed.