• João Guilherme Bezerra Alves, Fortunato José Cardoso Neto, Camila Dornelas Câmara Almeida, and Natalia Dornelas Câmara Almeida.
• Instituto Materno-Infantil Professor Fernando Figueira, Pernambuco, Rua dos Coelhos 300, Boa Vista, Recife (PE), CEP 50070-550, Brazil. joaoguilherme@imip.org.br
• Sao Paulo Med J. 2007 Jan 4; 125 (1): 575957-9.

Context And ObjectiveSeveral studies in developed countries have documented that a significant percentage of children are given inappropriate doses of acetaminophen and ibuprofen. The objective of this paper was to investigate parents' accuracy in giving dipyrone and acetaminophen to their children, in a poor region.Design And SettingCross-sectional study at the pediatric emergency department of Instituto Materno-Infantil Prof. Fernando Figueira, a teaching hospital in Pernambuco.MethodsThe inclusion criteria were age between 3 and 36 months, main complaint of fever and at least one dose of dipyrone or acetaminophen given to the child during the 24 hours preceding their arrival at the emergency department. The mothers were asked for demographic information and about the antipyretic doses given, which were compared with the recommended dosage.ResultsAmong the 200 patients studied, 117 received dipyrone and 83 received acetaminophen. Overall, 75 % received an incorrect dose of antipyretic. Of the patients who received dipyrone, 105 (89.7%) were given an incorrect dose; 16 (15.2%) received too little dipyrone, and 89 (84.8%) received too much. Of the patients who received acetaminophen, 45 (54.2%) were given an incorrect dose; 38 (84.4%) received too little acetaminophen, and 7 (15.6%) received too much. There were no differences in maternal and child characteristics between the groups receiving correct and incorrect doses of medication, except for the type of medication (dipyrone versus acetaminophen).ConclusionsMost of the children treated were given inappropriate doses, mainly dipyrone overdosing and acetaminophen underdosing.

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