儿童用药安全：给照顾者的重要意见外文翻译（中英文对照）.doc

Medication safety for children: important advice for caregivers Each year, an estimated 71,000 children are treated in emergency rooms for accidental medication poisonings, many of which are caused by dosing mistakes. Thankfully, while health care professionals or poison control resources resolve most issues, extreme cases that go untreated can result in complications, particularly in very young children. “Many well-intentioned caregivers can get mixed up when it comes to administering medication,” says Dr. Michael App, a pediatrician in Grand Rapids, Mich. “With so many factors playing a role in proper dosage, such as weight and age of the child, it is essential that caregivers closely follow the directions on the label to avoid potentially life-threatening mistakes.” Several manufacturers of children’s medications are also making efforts to improve safety and reduce the likelihood of errors. Perrigo Company, the world’s largest manufacturer of over-the-counter pharmaceutical products for retailers’ store brands, has been investing in equipment to insert “flow restrictors” in the bottles of all of their pediatric acetaminophen products. Flow restrictors reduce the size of the bottle opening and limit access to the medicine inside the bottle. Perrigo has added flow restrictors to all of its infants’ products and began converting the packaging of all of its children’s products with flow restrictors in January 2012. Perrigo is also participating in the Centers for Disease Control and Consumer Healthcare Products Association PROTECT initiative, which is bringing together experts to create strategies to reduce unsupervised medication ingestion in children. Experts remind caregivers to be diligent and avoid these common medicine mistakes: Not paying attention to potential drug interactions Caregivers should always check medication labels and take care to avoid administering multiple drugs at the same time, unless recommended or prescribed by a pediatrician. Also, before