CHINA PHARMACY Volume 33，Number 18，September 30，2022 Semimonthly Table of Contents Study on the availability of essential medicines for children at 18 tertiary children ’s hospitals / 中国药房

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE To provide emp irical evidence for relevant decision makers in China to formulate and improve policies related to children ’s medicine use . METHODS Based on the purchase data （Jul. 2016-Jun. 2019）of 18 tertiary children ’s hospitals，the availability of medicines included in the 7th edition of WHO Model List of Essential Medicines for Children （WHO EMLc）and their influential factors were investigated according to standard medicine investigation method recommended by the WHO and Health Action International . RESULTS A totally 189 active ingredients listed in the 7th edition of WHO EMLc were available at 18 tertiary children ’s hospitals in China ，which referred to 229 medicines. The availability of Budesonide inhalation suspension，oral rehydration salt ，Immunoglobulin for injection and Water for injection was 100%. In each quarter from Jul . 2016 to Jun . 2019，the availability of more than half of the medicines exceeded 50%，and the availability of the medicines remained basically stable in each quarter . The overall availability of cardiovascular system medicines and blood system medicines was the highest，while that of antiparasitic medicines and dermatology medicines was lower . There were 28 medicines（12.2%）that were not approved for use in children in China ，the use of which were off -label. The medicines which had been approved for children and which were included in national essential medicine list had a significantly higher availability （P＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS The availability of essential medicines for children is generally better at tertiary children ’s hospitals in China . But the use of some essential medicines in children are off -label. In order to ensure the safety and the availability of essential medicines for children ，it is suggested to introduce China ’s essential medicines list for children ，to promote clinical trials in children for commonly used medicines，and to updete the drug manual in time .