**1. Introduction**

Though the main aim of modern medicine is the prevention of healthy people, the most of the medical service for treatment today is applied as medical treatment of patients. One of the very important reasons of the service of medical treatment is choice of wrong drugs, and the other is not be able to use the planned treatment truly. The patients may not take the drugs that clinicians suggested themselves. This situation is known to be closely related to the presence of social health organization of patients. The patients may misuse a true treatment. Also the clinicians may cause the problem of drug misuse, especially the antibiotics. Whatever the reason is, the drug misuse causes the public health to deteriorate and economical loses and, this is inevitable. Moreover, some of the drug misuses, like of antibiotics, may imbalance the ecology and cause the problem to convey to next generations (Gokalp & Mollaoglu, 2003).

World Health Organization has defined the use of rational medication as "providing medication to individuals easily, at the lowest prices, and for the most suitable dosages and periods according to clinical findings and personal characteristics of individuals" (Baytemur, 2005; Cetinkaya et al, 2010; Ozdemir, 2010). Antibiotics are among the most important discoveries of the past century (Çetinkaya et al, 2010; Karabay, 2009).

Antibiotic use among the infants at newborn intensive care units is gradually increasing. In a study conducted over 29 newborns in USA, it was determined that 43% of the patients used antimicrobial during their stay. Undergoing microbial application poses a risk in terms of resistance. To avoid the use of antibiotics, in this sense, there have been training programs developed by the American Society of Infection (Patel & Saiman, 2010).

Antibiotics sits atop in the list of most frequently used medication in all countries. Similarly in Turkey, antibiotics are placed on the top in terms of the average per capita medication with a ratio of 17-19% (Çetinkaya et al, 2010; Özdemir, 2010; Ozgunes, 2005). The frequency of antibiotics usage in Turkey for in-patients is over 30%. This ratio increases over 50% for intensive care units (Çetinkaya et al, 2010; Sardan, 2005). While the consumption costs of antibiotics in USA exceed 7 million dollars per year, such medications establish the 30% of the total medication budgets of all hospitals. Nearly half of the antibiotics usage is still not

The Administration and Dose of Most Frequently Used Drugs in Pediatrics 291

basis in preparation of medication, and during their administration. Along with the nurse's skill in administering drugs, he / she has to possess adequate information about the drug

• **Natural sources:** Minerals (like Iron), animals (such as insulin), and plants (such as

• **The synthetics** (*chemical agents manufactured in laboratories*): Synthetic drugs have the same chemical composition with the natural ones, and they are obtained much cheaper; just not every drug could be acquired in this way, though (Görgülü & Ulusoy, 1996).

• "*Generic Name*" (family, registry name) describes the common name of the drug, given

Nurses can recognize the drugs they used frequently by their generic names and trade names (Çavuşoğlu, 2000; Dinç, 2011; Görgülü & Ulusoy, 1996). Because nurses happen to be facing the drugs under good deal of different names, they need to be careful about the name

Drugs are classified in various ways. As some could be classified by the body systems, such as "affecting respiratory system", "affecting cardiovascular system", some could be grouped by the syndromes they eliminate (Dinç, 2011; Görgülü & Ulusoy, 1996). Any drug may belong to more than one categories, as in the aspirin, which is an analgesic, antipyretic and

A pharmaceutical drug or medicine refers to the final state of medical substances, intended or ready for use in medical applications. The active element of the drug is processed to become useable with other solids or liquids. Drugs are available in different forms so they

1. Solid Pharmaceutical Types: powder, cachet, package, capsules, tablet, pastille, pilular,

3. Liquid Pharmaceutical Types: Solutions, solution for injections, syrup, potion, elixirs,

2. Semi-liquid semi-solid Pharmaceutical Types: Suppository, ovular, ointments.

• "*Official Name*" is the name for the official publications that would certificate the drug • "*Trade Name*" or sometimes "Brand Name" is given by the drug's authenticated

by its first manufacturer. This name is given after its chemical name.

manufacturer. There can be more than one trade names.

could be easily taken according to varying needs and conditions:

lotions, enema (Çavuşoğlu, 2000; Yüncü, 1994).

(Gorgulu & Ulusoy, 1996).

These are the basic sources of drugs:

before its administration (Dinç, 2011).

anti-inflammatory drug (Dinç, 2011).

**2.4 Pharmaceutical type of drugs** 

sugar-coated pill, extracts.

**2.3 Classification of drugs** 

• *"Chemical Name"* shows its chemical composition.

**2.1 Sources of drugs** 

**2.2 Drug nomenclature**  Drugs have multiple names:

opium)

appropriate despite strict control programs and such effort (Akan, 2006; Çetinkaya et al, 2010). In Turkey, antibiotic treatment is prescribed too frequently (Bal, 2005; Celen et al, 2005; Çetinkaya et al, 2010; Özgüneş, 2005;). In a study it is stated that antibiotics are being prescribed to significant portion of the patients who apply to clinics (15-48%) and only 2- 2.5% of those prescribed medication was based on culture results (Çetinkaya et al, 2010; Özgüneş, 2005).

Since the prevalence of drug errors are high, it is that imperative that nurses understand the factors leading to errors, and avoid them to the best of their ability (Dinc, 2011).

Without considering by whom it was prescribed, nurses are responsible for the every each medication that is administered personally on legal grounds, moral grounds, and ethical grounds (Dinç, 2011).

All professional nurses should take these issues seriously. Safe and correct medication is one of the principal responsibilities of a nurse during patient care. For a nurse to make free decisions over right medication, correct administration, and providing appropriate means for measurement and monitoring is important for the assessment of the side effects of medication and the patient reactions against it. Reliable medication requires knowledge synthesis, experience, critical approach and intellectual norms (Dinç, 2011).

Comparing to that on an adult, medication administration greatly differs on children, while bringing along responsibilities. It is of the physician's responsibility to write down the doses into drug master file. Nurse, on the other hand, is responsible for administering the medication at the correct amount and on the correct time. Nurse has to know when this medication would start to be effective, for how long it would be effective, what side-effects it might cause, any toxic indications, and counter-measures in respect thereof (Kavakli et al, 1998).

In a study carried out to analyze the knowledge and behavior of pediatricians regarding to the rational use of antibiotics, as well as the socio-demographic factors that might be affecting, 89.8% of the participants reported that, when prescribing antibiotics, they need to see the patient first, whereas, 78.1% indicated that they were prescribing antibiotics according to the patient's clinical condition, 71.1% reported that they had paid attention to the appropriateness of the symptoms, and 67.2% told that they were going to take microbiological culture samples for examination. As for the question '*who should give education about antibiotics*' 32.1% replied as the physician who had prescribed the medication, 23.4% said the junior doctors, 21.9% said pharmacists, 17.2% said the pediatric nurse, 9.4% said nurses (Çetinkaya et al, 2010).

The pediatrics nurses auditing the medication use, evaluation by them if the importance of regular use of the medication is understood or not, to obtain the suitable feedback from the patent and the patient's family by the prescribing physician, adverse effects and what they should do under such circumstances etc., providing training and consultancy on all these are among their duties (Çetinkaya et al, 2010; Çetinkaya &Tengir, 2006).

### **2. Pharmacological concepts**

If taken by a living organism, drug is an agent that brings changes in body functions. Administration of drugs is of the principal practices in nursing. Safety of the patient is the basis in preparation of medication, and during their administration. Along with the nurse's skill in administering drugs, he / she has to possess adequate information about the drug (Gorgulu & Ulusoy, 1996).
