§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the value and risks of prescribing steroids to children. [26786]
§ Mr. MaloneCorticosteroids are effective in the treatment of many serious and life-threatening conditions and have been used for the treatment of children and adults for many years. All medicines have side effects, and those for corticosteroids are well documented in the product information, which is produced by the manufacturer and authorised by the Licensing Authority and in the British National Formulary, which the Department sends free of charge to all doctors. The product information contains special precautions regarding use in children. In addition, in 1994, the Committee on Safety of Medicines evaluated the association of corticosteroids and severe chickenpox, as a result of which the product information for corticosteroids was revised to further improve warnings and precautions of use. Doctors and pharmacists were informed of these changes through the CSM's regular bulletin "Current Problems in Pharmacovigilance".