mL divisions from 1 to 5 mL to measure doses of less than 5 mL (other sizes of oral syringe may also be available). General information about a patient’s fitness to drive is available from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency at www. However, the legislation provides a statutory “medical defence” for patients taking drugs for medical reasons in accordance with instructions, if their driving was not impaired—it continues to be an offence to drive if actually impaired.

For clarity and to aid selection of the correct dose, wherever possible these age and weight ranges now do not overlap. Patients receiving medicines containing cariogenic sugars should be advised of appropriate dental hygiene measures to prevent caries. Drug monographs – where possible, all information that relates to a single drug is contained within its drug monograph, moving information previously contained in the prescribing notes. In addition, general advice relevant to other routes of administration is provided within this section (e. The Important safety advice section in the BNF, delineated by a coloured outline box, highlights important safety concerns, often those raised by regulatory authorities or guideline producers.updated guidance for immunisation of neonates in-line with Public Health England/UK Health Security Agency recommendations. However, clinical information curated by the BNF team has been clearly separated from the categorical pricing and pack size information and is included in the relevant section of the drug monograph. When prescriptions are to be signed by general practitioner registrars, assistants, locums, or deputising doctors, the name of the doctor printed at the bottom of the form must still be that of the responsible principal. It also caused constraints between the BNF and BNF for Children, where drugs had different therapeutic uses in children. Drugs and driving Prescribers and other healthcare professionals should advise patients if treatment is likely to affect their ability to perform skilled tasks (e.

Prescribers should avoid creating their own compound names for the purposes of generic prescribing; such names do not have an approved definition and can be misinterpreted. Where there is any doubt about the authenticity of a prescription, the pharmacist should contact the prescriber.Similarly, when interpreting weight ranges, it should be understood that a weight of up to 30 kg is applicable to a patient up to, but not including, the point that they tip the scales at 30 kg and a weight range of 35 to 59 kg is applicable to a patient as soon as they tip the scales at 35 kg right up until, but not including, the point that they tip the scales at 60 kg. Indication and dose User feedback has highlighted that one of the main uses of the BNF is identifying indications and doses of drugs. The latter should be used if the public supply is from a local storage tank or if the potable water is unsuitable for a particular preparation (Water for injections). Dose and dose frequency should be stated; in the case of preparations to be taken ‘as required’ a minimum dose interval should be specified.

Medicines in Dentistry Specialist Advisory Service Information on drug therapy relating to dental treatment. Benzyl alcohol has been associated with a fatal toxic syndrome in preterm neonates, and therefore, parenteral preparations containing the preservative should not be used in neonates. Medicines Information Services Information on drug therapy Information on any aspect of drug therapy can be obtained from Regional and District Medicines Information Services. Monograph titles follow the convention of recommended international non-proprietary names (rINNs), or, in the absence of a rINN, British Approved Names.Important To avoid inadvertent intravenous administration of oral liquid medicines, only an appropriate oral or enteral syringe should be used to measure an oral liquid medicine (if a medicine spoon or graduated measure cannot be used); these syringes should not be compatible with intravenous or other parenteral devices. Patients should therefore be advised to continue taking their medicines as prescribed, and when driving, to carry suitable evidence that the drug was prescribed, or sold, to treat a medical or dental problem, and that it was taken according to the instructions given by the prescriber, or information provided with the medicine (e. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Once on a page, visual cues aid navigation: treatment summary information is in black type, with therapeutic use titles similarly styled in black, whereas the use of colour indicates drug-related information, including drug classification titles, drug class monographs, and drug monographs.

The BNF should be interpreted in the light of professional knowledge and supplemented as necessary by specialised publications and by reference to the product literature.

The drug chosen to treat a particular condition should minimise the patient’s susceptibility to adverse effects and, where co-morbidities exist, have minimal detrimental effects on the patient’s other diseases. In the updated structure, drug class monographs have been created to contain the common information; this ensures such information is easier to find, and has a more regularised structure. In addition, if the dose varies with a specific preparation or formulation, that dosing information has been moved out of the preparations section and in to the indication and dose panel, under a heading of the preparation name.