The development of age‐adapted dosage forms and taste‐masking of bitter‐tasting drugs administered orally for children, are formidable challenges for formulation scientists. Childhood is a period of maturation requiring knowledge of developmental pharmacology to establish dose but the ability of the child to manage different dosage forms and devices also changes. Paediatric formulations must allow accurate administration of the dose to children of widely varying age and weight. Whilst the oral route will be preferred for long term use and the intravenous route for the acutely ill, many of the dosage forms designed for adults, such as oro‐dispersible tablets, buccal gels and transdermal patches, would also benefit children if they contained an appropriate paediatric dose. The age at which children can swallow conventional tablets is of great importance for their safety. Liquid medicines are usually recommended for infants and younger dhildren so the ability to mask unpleasant taste with sweeteners and flavours is crucial. More sophisticated formulations such as granules and oro‐dispersible tablets may be required but there will be limitations on choice and concentration of excipients. There are many gaps in our knowledge about paediatric formulations and many challenges for the industry if suitable preparations are to be available for all ranges. A CHMP points to consider document is soon to be released. More research and clinical feedback are important because a formulation with poor acceptability may affect compliance, prescribing practice and ultimately commercial viability.

The use of unlicensed and off-label medicines in children is common because trials in children have not usually been performed during the drug development process. Consequently, the information available to paediatricians may not always be as detailed or as robust as that available when prescribing a medicine that is licensed for an approved indication. This has led to concerns that children may be receiving drugs at dosages that either lack efficacy or present safety problems. The latter in particular has received a great deal of attention. In this narrative review, we have evaluated the use of off-label and unlicensed medicines in children and whether and how frequently this predisposes to adverse drug reactions.

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The addition of fat emulsion and fat-soluble vitamins did not alter the physical stability of parenteral admixtures for neonates. Moreover, the admixtures examined were relatively chemically stable for 24 hours, as far as vitamin E is concerned. Lipid peroxidation was the limiting factor for application stability of an all-in-one neonatal parenteral regimen.