USE OF COMPOUND DRUGS IN A NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT

Abstract

The prescription of compounding can bring many therapeutic advantages, especially in specific areas such as neonatology, due to the low availability of the ideal pharmaceutical form for the clinical issues presented by these patients. This study aimed to analyze the prescription of oral compounding in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in a tertiary-level Neonatology Hospital in São Paulo. A quantitative, descriptive, and retrospective study was carried out from March 2020 to February 2021, analyzing the frequencies of prescription drugs and therapeutic classes. The most compounding drugs as liquid formulations were spironolactone (31.7%), hydrochlorothiazide (17.9%), furosemide (14.2%), sildenafil (14.0%),  captopril (10.5%), omeprazole (9.7%) and propranolol (2.0%). According to the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification system, the largest prescriptions correspond to group C, cardiovascular diseases. The study shows the importance of compounding in the NICU and, therefore, the importance of hospital compounding in neonatology, ensuring the effectiveness and safety of medications.