TY - JOUR
T1 - Physician and Parent Response to the FDA Advisory About Use of Over-the-Counter Cough and Cold Medications
AU - Garbutt, Jane M.
AU - Sterkel, Randall
AU - Banister, Christina
AU - Walbert, Carrie
AU - Strunk, Robert C.
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and NIH Roadmap for Medical Research (grant UL1 RR024992; Christina Banister and Carrie Walbert). The contents of this work are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of NCRR or NIH. We thank all the physicians and parents who completed the surveys, and the pediatricians at Blue Fish Pediatrics, Children's Clinic, Esse Health-Watson, Esse Health-Creve Coeur, Esse Health-Florissant, Heartland Pediatrics, Forest Park Pediatrics, Northwest Pediatrics, Pediatric Healthcare Unlimited, Primary Care Pediatrics and Tots thru Teens Pediatrics, who allowed us to enroll patients in their offices. We also thank Shannon McBride for her careful review of the manuscript.
PY - 2010/1
Y1 - 2010/1
N2 - Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the likely impact of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory not to use over-the-counter (OTC) cough and cold products for children aged <2 years on care provided by pediatricians and parents. Methods: A mailed survey was completed by 105 community pediatricians (53% response rate), and 1265 parents with children aged <12 years completed a self-administered survey while waiting for an office visit. Results: All physicians were aware of the advisory; 75% agreed with it. Fifty-nine percent did not recommend OTC cough and cold products for children aged <2 years before the advisory, and 35% were less likely to do so afterward. Seventy-three percent of parents were aware of the advisory, 70% believed these products relieved symptoms, 68% did not believe they were dangerous, and 74% had them at home. After the advisory, 21% of parents were more likely to request an antibiotic from the doctor. Among the parents, 225 only had children aged <2 years and 695 only had children aged 2 to 11 years; of these parental groups, 53% and 10% of parents, respectively, did not use these products before the advisory, an additional 33% and 28%, respectively, were less likely to do so afterward, and 15% and 61%, respectively, would continue use them. Conclusions: Pediatricians must be prepared for requests from parents for antibiotics and other remedies for symptom relief for their children with colds. As no effective alternatives are available, maybe nontreatment should be promoted.
AB - Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the likely impact of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory not to use over-the-counter (OTC) cough and cold products for children aged <2 years on care provided by pediatricians and parents. Methods: A mailed survey was completed by 105 community pediatricians (53% response rate), and 1265 parents with children aged <12 years completed a self-administered survey while waiting for an office visit. Results: All physicians were aware of the advisory; 75% agreed with it. Fifty-nine percent did not recommend OTC cough and cold products for children aged <2 years before the advisory, and 35% were less likely to do so afterward. Seventy-three percent of parents were aware of the advisory, 70% believed these products relieved symptoms, 68% did not believe they were dangerous, and 74% had them at home. After the advisory, 21% of parents were more likely to request an antibiotic from the doctor. Among the parents, 225 only had children aged <2 years and 695 only had children aged 2 to 11 years; of these parental groups, 53% and 10% of parents, respectively, did not use these products before the advisory, an additional 33% and 28%, respectively, were less likely to do so afterward, and 15% and 61%, respectively, would continue use them. Conclusions: Pediatricians must be prepared for requests from parents for antibiotics and other remedies for symptom relief for their children with colds. As no effective alternatives are available, maybe nontreatment should be promoted.
KW - over-the-counter medications
KW - upper respiratory infections
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=73949122696&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.acap.2009.07.002
DO - 10.1016/j.acap.2009.07.002
M3 - Article
C2 - 19819775
AN - SCOPUS:73949122696
SN - 1876-2859
VL - 10
SP - 64
EP - 69
JO - Academic Pediatrics
JF - Academic Pediatrics
IS - 1
ER -