USE OF MEDICINES BY CHILDREN ATTENDING NU RSERY SCHOOLS

In order to study the pattern of the use of medicines by children, 1,3 82 children seen at 15 of the 16 day-care centers of Pinheiros, S. Pau lo city (SP)(Brasil), were followed-up for 2 months. Of these, 37% rec eived 1,409 drugs. Average drug use was 50.9 medicines/100 children/mo nth and the number of medicines used by each child ranged from 0 to 13 . Younger children (0-2 years) received more medicines and more freque ntly than older children; over 80% of the younger children received on e or more medicines, and more than 20% received 5 or more medicines vs . less than 45% and 5%, respectively, in. the group of children aged 2 -7 years. The medications most frequently employed were anti-infective , respiratory medicines and antipyretics used by, respectively, 20.1%, 19.0% and 14.0% of the children studied (usually for respiratory prob lems). Physicians prescribed 93% of medicines, but there were many ina ppropriate therapies for benign conditions, such as bronchitis and com mon colds. Antibiotic misure was observed (66%) including an excessive number of cloramphenicol prescriptions. Also, there were many prescri ptions of doubtful value (decongestants, expectorants, vitamin and min eral supplements) and usage of as yet un approved medications for chil dren (diclofenac, benzidamin, iodides).