Pros and cons of rectal medication in children

Nowadays, there is a special treatment method for diseases that are difficult to treat in children, which is rectal medication. Rectal medication in children is generally used to reduce fever. Many children often have high fevers, and once the fever lasts for several days, the doctor will use rectal medication to reduce the child's temperature. So, what are the pros and cons of rectal medication for children? The following is a detailed introduction.

advantage

1. Medication is safer

Reduce the toxic side effects of drugs on the liver and kidneys: The liver, kidneys and other organs of children (especially infants aged 1-3 years old) are not fully developed. Oral administration is generally metabolized through organs such as the liver and kidneys; while rectal administration is absorbed through the rectal mucosa and directly enters the general circulation, which can reduce drug irritation to the gastrointestinal tract and alleviate the drug's toxic side effects on the liver and kidneys.

2. More accurate medication

The dosage of rectal administration is accurate, convenient and safe: oral administration is not easy to feed children, and children are prone to choking and vomiting when crying, which often affects the effective dose; although injection administration has certain advantages, it is not easily accepted by children and is inconvenient. It requires certain conditions and operating skills to complete. Rectal administration only requires the child to lie prone and gently push the liquid medicine into the anus.

3. Better efficacy

The rectal route of administration is absorbed quickly and takes effect quickly: relevant personnel at home and abroad have conducted bioavailability measurement research on four dosage forms, including tablets, capsules, injections, and suppositories. The results show that rectal administration can take effect in half an hour, and oral administration can take effect in about an hour. After they are absorbed, their blood concentrations are maintained for a similar period of time, about 4 hours. When administered by injection, the drug is absorbed quickly, but also eliminated quickly. The blood drug concentration in the body is maintained for a very short time and decreases linearly. Therefore rectal administration in children is better and superior than other routes of administration.

shortcoming

Another disadvantage of rectal administration is the differences in body structure among children of different age groups. For example, due to the relatively large individual differences in rectal venous return, there will be differences in the degree of drug absorption, which may cause insufficient therapeutic doses or therapeutic doses exceeding the toxic dose.

For the same disease, some children have no effect when given rectal medication at a normal dose, or other children can take the normal dose safely, but some children may experience side effects due to large fluctuations in absorption concentration.