
News
Medicines safety alert - Erythromycin therapy
5 January 2021
Erythromycin in babies and infants has been associated with an increased risk of infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis.
News
Thirteen UK healthcare bodies launch ‘pragmatic’ guidance on valproate use
14 December 2020
Experts from 13 national bodies, including seven Royal Colleges, have joined forces to launch new practical guidance to support doctors and other health professionals around valproate use in women and girls in their reproductive years.
News
Updated guidance on valproate use in women and girls of childbearing years is published
14 December 2020
This guidance, updated in December 2020 and endorsed by RCPCH, has been produced to inform all healthcare professionals of best practice around the use and prescribing of valproate. It supports them to navigate situations that could arise as a result of prescribing valproate to women during childbea...
News
Therapeutic alert - Corticosteroids in the treatment of suspected or confirmed COVID-19
9 September 2020
Following recent publication of the REMAP-CAP trial for hydrocortisone and a meta-analysis of corticosteroids, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recently issued new interim guidance recommending the use of systemic corticosteroids in severe and critical COVID-19 disease.
News
Medicine safety alert - ranitidine (withdrawn)
26 June 2020
Ranitidine products (Brand names including Zantac®) were voluntarily withdrawn by manufacturers in October 2019, because of fears that they may contain low levels of an impurity called NMDA.
News
Medicines safety alert – apraclonidine use in infants below six months of age
17 March 2020
The RCPCH/NPPG Medicines Committee has recently been informed of a severe adverse reaction in a six-month old child with anisocoria who had been administered apraclonidine 1% to help exclude Horner syndrome.
News
E-cigarette use or vaping: reporting suspected adverse reactions
2 March 2020
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is requesting that healthcare professionals report any suspected side effects or safety concerns with e-cigarettes and the e-liquids used for vaping to the Yellow Card Scheme.
News
RCPCH responds to NICE guidance on cannabidiol use in two forms of childhood epilepsy
5 February 2020
Dr Mike Linney, Registrar and Chair of the Ethics Committee for RCPCH, welcomes recent guidance from NICE, but notes the urgent need for high quality, independent research on this medicine to provide the best possible care for children with complex epilepsy.
News
Medicines safety alert - domperidone
16 December 2019
Domperidone is no longer licensed for use in children younger than 12 years or those weighing less than 35 kg because of a lack of evidence for benefit.
News
RCPCH responds to draft NICE guidance and outcome of NHS England review on CBMPs
13 August 2019
Last week, NICE published draft recommendations on the use of cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) following evaluation of their clinical and cost-effectiveness, and NHS England published a review aimed at assessing the barriers to prescribing cannabis-based medicinal products where it is safe ...