PEDIATRIC AND OBSTETRIC PHARMACOLOGY: INSIGHTS FROM A NURSING PERSPECTIVE

Author Name: 1. Dr Madhavi Ghorpade, 2. Mr. Prasad Arvind Phutane, . Sasireka V, 4. Dr. Prema Krishnan, 5. Keziya Susan Babu, 6. Dr. Joanna John Kothare, 7. Vivek Trivedi, 8. Ms. Rehana Banoo, 9. Neelima Singh

Volume/Issue: 05/02

Country: India

DOI NO.: 08.2020-25662434 DOI Link: https://doi-ds.org/doilink/07.2024-86741361/UIJIR

Affiliation:

1. Assistant Professor, Sadhu Vaswani College of Nursing, Pune. Maharashtra, India. madhavighorpade2015@gmail.com
2. Principal, Ashokrao Mane College of Nursing, Wathar, India. pprasad2982@gmail.com
3. Assistant Professor, College of Nursing, Mother Theresa Post Graduate and Research Institute of Health Sciences, India. sasireka82@gmail.com
4. Principal, Annai Veilankannis College of Nursing, India. krishnanprema73@gmail.com
5. Principal, Grace Institutions, India. keziyababu87@gmail.com
6. Principal, MBT Institute of Nursing, Nashik, Maharashtra, India. joanna.kothare@gmail.com
7. Vice Principal, Jyoti College of Management Science and Technology Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India. vivek.trivedi2030@gail.com
8. Junior Staff Nurse, Govt Medical College Doda (Jammu And Kashmir), India, rehanakripak39@gmail.com
9. Assistant Professor, LN Nursing school, India. neelima.singh9898@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

Paediatric and obstetric pharmacology are specialized fields that present unique challenges and considerations for nursing professionals due to the distinct physiological and developmental differences in these patient populations. In paediatrics, understanding developmental pharmacokinetics is essential as it impacts how drugs are absorbed, distributed, metabolized, and eliminated in children of varying ages and stages of growth. Nurses play a critical role in ensuring safe medication administration by meticulously calculating and adjusting doses based on age, weight, and developmental milestones to achieve therapeutic efficacy while minimizing potential adverse effects. Additionally, ensuring medication safety is paramount, requiring nurses to implement rigorous protocols such as double-checking calculations and using paediatric-specific formulations to reduce the risk of errors. In obstetrics, pharmacological management is complicated by the physiological changes of pregnancy, which can significantly alter drug pharmacokinetics and dynamics. Nurses collaborate closely with healthcare teams to monitor maternal health indicators, foetal well-being, and the potential impacts of medications on both. Ethical considerations are integral to decision-making in both paediatric and obstetric care, involving issues of patient autonomy, informed consent, and weighing potential benefits against risks to vulnerable populations. Nursing interventions encompass comprehensive patient assessment, education, and monitoring to optimize outcomes and ensure medication adherence. This review synthesizes current knowledge and best practices in paediatric and obstetric pharmacology, highlighting the crucial role of nurses in navigating these complexities. By emphasizing developmental pharmacokinetics, medication safety measures, ethical considerations, and effective nursing interventions, this paper underscores the importance of nursing expertise in achieving safe and effective medication management in paediatric and obstetric settings.

Key words: Paediatric pharmacokinetics, Developmental considerations, Medication safety, Nursing interventions, Obstetric pharmacology, Ethical dilemmas, Patient education, Interdisciplinary collaboration