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This is a registry-based study with the aim of describing and comparing the frequency of manipulations of solid oral and rectal medicines in 2009 and 2019 at inpatient units and an emergency department in a paediatric hospital within a Swedish university hospital. All patients aged 1 month–18 years with oral or rectal administrations were included. In total, 140,791 oral and rectal administrations were included in 2009, and 167,945 oral and rectal administrations were included in 2019. The frequency of patients receiving at least one manipulated oral medicine decreased between the study years, both in inpatient units and in the emergency department (from 19% to 17%, p = 0.0029 and from 11% to 5%, p < 0.0001, respectively). The frequency of patients receiving a manipulated rectal medicine also decreased between the study years, both in inpatient units and in the emergency department (from 22% to 10%, p < 0.0001 and from 35% to 7% 2019, p < 0.0001, respectively). The results show a decrease in the manipulation of both oral and rectal medicines to paediatric patients in 2019 compared to 2009. Even though this implies a safer practice, there is still a pronounced lack of child-friendly dosage forms and suitable strengths enabling the safe administration of medicines to sick children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aims were to characterise paediatric medication errors and to identify the prevalence of known high‐alert substances in these errors. Methods: All paediatric drug‐related incident reports and complaints nationally reported to the Health and Social Care Inspectorate in Sweden 2011‐2017 regarding inpatients were characterised by context and modal details. In addition, drug use at a university hospital was matched to local incident reports. Drug substances were classified using three high‐alert lists. Results: On a national level, there were 160 reports (2.5 per 10 000 patients) in which the three high‐alert lists were found in different degrees (17/35/47%). Morphine (n = 12), vancomycin (n = 11) and potassium (n = 7) were most frequently involved. Eighty per cent of the reports concerned patients aged 0‐6 years. Intravenous was the most common route of administration (66%). On a university hospital level, the prevalence of all types of drug incidents reports was 1.7% among all inpatients. The prevalence of local incident reports involving high‐alert substances was almost double that of non‐alert substances. Conclusion: Existing high‐alert drug lists are relevant for paediatric inpatients. A higher awareness and usage of such lists among hospital staff prescribing, dispensing and administering drugs to children may have the potential to reduce medication errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]