What are anticholinergic drugs?

Anticholinergic drugs include oxybutynin, tolterodine, and solifenacin. There are relatively more studies abroad on the safety of oxybutynin in young children, while the domestic instructions only cover the dosage and administration for children over 6 years old.

1. Precautions for the Use of Anticholinergic Drugs: Most domestic oxybutynin preparations are sustained-release formulations that require swallowing whole and should not be chewed or dissolved in water, which increases the difficulty for young children to take the medication. In foreign countries, there are drop formulations (oxybutynin syrup) that greatly increase children's compliance with medication. Although sustained-release formulations reduce the incidence of side effects, side effects such as dry mouth, skin flushing, and nosebleeds still occur occasionally.

2. Consistency in Medication Is Key: In most developing countries, there are no commercially available intravesical formulations of oxybutynin, and they need to be prepared at home. Compressing tablets (crushing tablets into powder) is relatively easy, and then dissolving them in sterilized water at a ratio of 5mg/5ml, taken twice daily. After CIC (Clean Intermittent Catheterization), the prepared medication is instilled into the bladder and retained for 3 to 4 hours or until the next CIC. If sterilized water is not available, cooled boiled water can be used. However, 25% of children fail to adhere to the treatment due to the inconvenience of preparing the medication.