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Child medicines are not properly controlled

01 May 1997

Medicines given to children in the UK are not properly controlled.

Drug companies are applying for licences for medicinal products before they have been fully tested on children. Drug licences are limited to usage in adults because of this lack of data.

One common example is vitamin K, which is given at birth to virtually all babies in the UK, even though there is no licence to give it orally, which is now the most common method of administering it. Similarly, theophyllines used to relax and widen the bronchial passage are often given to premature babies even though they are not recommended for children under the age of 3.

The House of Commons Health Committee is urging the Department of Health to adopt recent recommendations for age specific drug licensing, for clinical trials in children, and fuller information for health professionals and parents.

Vitamin k and cancer - Q:I read with interest one of your reader's letters regarding vitamin K. I'm due to have my first baby in five weeks and her letter prompted me to enq...

Vitamin k injections - One reader is expecting a baby next March, and she's wondering just how necessary are the vitamin K injections and drops given to the baby. It's an i...

Oral vitamin k - Q:How safe and effective are oral vitamin K preparations? W L, Boston.... ...

Babies and vitamin k - Babies given regular oral doses of vitamin K for the first three months may have better protection against excessive bleeding or hemorrhage. ...

No need for vitamin k - There seems to be no particular benefit to giving every infants vitamin K to prevent haemorrhagic disease of the newborn. ...

Premature babies don't need blood - Premature babies are at great risk of suffering brain injury, so they are routinely given transfusions as a preventative. But new research has discove...

Vitamin k link to cancer still questioned - New controversy surrounds the issue of whether injecting vitamin K in newborns to prevent haemorrhagic disease can cause childhood leukemia. ...

Neonatal blood transfusions may lead to adult hep c - Adult hepatitis C may have its roots in the routine blood transfusions given to premature or underweight babies in the 1960s. ...

The British Institute for the Identification & Treatment of Allergic Disorders

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