[Reliability of ambulatory drug therapy in childhood].

The continuing increase in outpatient paediatric treatments requires parents to take more responsibility for the drug therapy prescribed. Randomly selected mothers were given questionnaires, to be filled in anonymously, about the administration of drugs frequently prescribed for their children. The evaluation of 888 questionnaires showed that only one-half of the prescribed drugs had been administered according to instruction: Expectorants and antitussive sedatives to 52%, externals to 57%, rhinological agents to 36% and laryngological drugs to 27%. With antibiotics, however, the compliance was higher. In order to improve compliance, the mutual relationship: doctor-mother-child-drug, should be reconsidered.