Drug toxicity in the neonate.

The incidence of adverse drug reactions in neonates is thought to be at least 10%. The physiology of the newborn infant is different to that of both paediatric patients and adults. This therefore predisposes to certain types of drug toxicity, which are described below. Medication errors are also a significant problem in the neonatal period due to the lack of appropriate formulations designed for neonates. 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel.