Many Canadian children are given prescription drugs that have not been tested on their age group and that puts them at risk, says an independent panel of experts. The Council of Canadian Academies was asked to look at the issue by the Canadian government.
Each year about half of Canada’s seven million children use at least one prescription drug. Often the drug is used to treat a condition other than the one for which it was developed.
Few drug trials designed for children
The U.S. and Europe have done drug studies involving children for years, said Dr. Anne Junker of BC Children’s Hospital. She said it is unacceptable that only 14 per cent of clinical trials are specifically designed for drug use in children.
The report confirmed that children respond differently to medications than do adults and may need liquids instead of pills. It also found that children take many medications that have not been proven safe or effective for them. It argued for more surveillance of adverse drug reactions.
‘Unacceptable to go on’
“It’s clearly unacceptable to go on treating 20 or 30 per cent of the population with therapies that have not been validated in a scientific fashion that’s been required for 50 years in the adult world,” said Dr. Stuart MacLeod, a pediatrics professor at the University of British Columbia, who led the expert panel.
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