Office-based physicians commonly order drugs off label for children

Physicians in outpatient settings — or office-based physicians — commonly prescribe off-label medicines to children, according to new research. Scientists looked at survey data from 2006-2015, and found that these doctors ordered at least one off-label drug — one that was prescribed for a condition it wasn’t approved for — for almost 20% of visits. The most common reason was because the drug was not approved for the patient’s condition. The most off-label prescriptions were written for adolescents, although the rate of off-label prescriptions was highest among newborn infants. Rates of ordering antihistamines, anti-inflammatories, and drugs for gastrointestinal conditions increased over time, while prescriptions for some antibiotics decreased. In a related editorial, experts call for more research into how unapproved drugs work against various conditions in children.