아동 해열제 교차복용에 대한 약사 복약지도 가이드라인 필요성

The Need for Pharmacist Medication Counseling Guidelines on Alternating Antipyretic Use in Pediatric Patients

This study evaluates the current practices and challenges of community pharmacists in providing medication counseling for the alternating use of antipyretics in pediatric patients. A nationwide online survey of 161 community pharmacists revealed that lack of standardized guidelines (45.96%) was the primary difficulty experienced when counseling parents about alternating antipyretic use. Findings showed that pharmacists frequently encountered parental misconceptions, with 61.49% of parents believing antipyretics must be administered whenever a child’s temperature exceeds 37℃ regardless of overall condition. Pharmacists reported that dosing interval questions (90.68%) were the most common parent inquiries, while overdose risk from confusion about intervals (61.49%) was their greatest concern. A significant majority of pharmacists (86.4%) expressed the need for comprehensive guidelines on alternating antipyretic use, emphasizing clear principles (85.09%) and specific dosing interval recommendations (56.52%). This study highlights the critical need for standardized guidelines for pharmacists to effectively counsel parents on the appropriate alternating use of antipyretics in pediatric patients, which could potentially reduce medication misuse and alleviate parental anxiety about childhood fever.