Dear Reader,

As we reach the final issue of Pediatric Drugs for 2018, we wish to reflect on another successful year’s achievements, and to thank all those who have contributed their time and effort to guarantee the high quality of our content.

2018 was a successful year for Pediatric Drugs. Over 50 articles have been published; the most popular of these, in terms of downloads from SpringerLink (up to the end of September), have been:


Saint GL, Semple MG, Sinha I, Hawcutt DB. Optimizing the Dosing of Intravenous Theophylline in Acute Severe Asthma in Children. Pediatr Drugs. 2018;20(3):209–214.

Ott MA, Crawley FP, Sáez-Llorens X, Owusu-Agyei S, Neubauer D, Dubin G, Poplazarova T, Begg N, Rosenthal SL. Ethical Considerations for the Participation of Children of Minor Parents in Clinical Trials. Pediatr Drugs. 2018;20(3):215–222.

Brusaferro A, Farinelli E, Zenzeri L, Cozzali R, Esposito S. The Management of Paediatric Functional Abdominal Pain Disorders: Latest Evidence. Pediatr Drugs. 2018;20(3):235–247.

Durgam S, Chen C, Migliore R, Prakash C, Edwards J, Findling RL. A Phase 3, Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study of Vilazodone in Adolescents with Major Depressive Disorder. Pediatr Drugs. 2018;20(4):353–363.

Wang Y, Xu Y, Zou R, Wu L, Liu P, Yang H, Xie Z, Wang C. Effect of Levocarnitine on the Therapeutic Efficacy of Conventional Therapy in Children with Dilated Cardiomyopathy: Results of a Randomized Trial in 29 Children. Pediatr Drugs. 2018;20(3):285–290.

Wedekind MF, Denton NL, Chen CY, Cripe TP. Pediatric Cancer Immunotherapy: Opportunities and Challenges. Pediatr Drugs. 2018;20(5):395–408.

Kashiwagi T, Okada Y, Nomoto K. Palivizumab Prophylaxis Against Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection in Children with Immunocompromised Conditions or Down Syndrome: A Multicenter, Post-Marketing Surveillance in Japan. Pediatr Drugs. 2018;20(1):97–104.

Stepanova E, Grant B, Findling RL. Asenapine Treatment in Pediatric Patients with Bipolar I Disorder or Schizophrenia: A Review. Pediatr Drugs. 2018;20(2):121–134.

Li A, Yeo K, Welty D, Rong H. Development of Guanfacine Extended-Release Dosing Strategies in Children and Adolescents with ADHD Using a Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic Model to Predict Drug-Drug Interactions with Moderate CYP3A4 Inhibitors or Inducers. Pediatr Drugs. 2018;20(2):181–194.

van Rongen A, van der Aa MP, Matic M, van Schaik RHN, Deneer VHM, van der Vorst MM, Knibbe CAJ. Increased Metformin Clearance in Overweight and Obese Adolescents: A Pharmacokinetic Substudy of a Randomized Controlled Trial. Pediatr Drugs. 2018;20(4):365–374.


Social media sharing of information is becoming more important and is another metric with which to measure the reach of articles. This year the following articles published in Pediatric Drugs scored highly on the Altmetric system:


Puri L, Nottage KA, Hankins JS, Anghelescu DL. State of the Art Management of Acute Vaso-occlusive Pain in Sickle Cell Disease. Pediatr Drugs. 2018;20(1):29–42.

Tomlin AM, Woods DJ, Lloyd HS, Tilyard MW. Trends in Outpatient Prescription Medicine Use in New Zealand Children 2010-2015: A National Population-Based Study. Pediatr Drugs. 2018;20(5):465–474.

Durrieu G, Maupiler M, Rousseau V, Chebane L, Montastruc F, Bondon-Guitton E, Montastruc JL. Frequency and Nature of Adverse Drug Reactions Due to Non-Prescription Drugs in Children: A Retrospective Analysis from the French Pharmacovigilance Database. Pediatr Drugs. 2018;20(1):81–87.

Alqahtani S, Abouelkheir M, Alsultan A, Elsharawy Y, Alkoraishi A, Osman R, Mansy W. Optimizing Amikacin Dosage in Pediatrics Based on Population Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic Modeling. Pediatr Drugs. 2018;20(3):265–272.


Ott MA, Crawley FP, Sáez-Llorens X, Owusu-Agyei S, Neubauer D, Dubin G, Poplazarova T, Begg N, Rosenthal SL. Ethical Considerations for the Participation of Children of Minor Parents in Clinical Trials. Pediatr Drugs. 2018;20(3):215–222.


The quality of articles published in the journal is also reflected in its most recent impact factor. At 2.000, the impact of the journal remains high, and Pediatric Drugs is ranked 51 out of 124 pediatric journals.

We thank the authors who have contributed articles to Pediatric Drugs over the course of 2018. The skill and dedication of all authors are critical to the continued publication of the journal. The quality of published articles is also testament to the significant efforts of the peer reviewers, whose commitment ensures that the journal’s content is held to the highest possible standard. We would like to thank the following individuals who acted as reviewers for Pediatric Drugs in the last 12 months:


Ahmed M. S. E. K. Abdelaty, UK

Ghanshyam D. Agarwal, USA

Karel Allegaert, Belgium

Jorge Amil Dias, Portugal

Peter Anderson, USA

Achilleas Attilakos, Greece

Hannah K. Batchelor, UK

Jules C. Beal, USA

David Q. Beversdorf, USA

Theresa Bingemann, USA

Sebastian Botzenhardt, Germany

Malcolm Brodie, UK

Peter Bulova, USA

Michael U. Callaghan, USA

Christina D. Chambers, USA

Naseem A. Charoo, United Arab Emirates

Olivier Chassany, France

Pratima Chowdary, UK

Joshua Courter, USA

Jean-Christophe Cuvellier, France

Steven J. Czinn, USA

Deonne Dersch-Mills, Canada

Geneviève Durrieu, France

Rhoikos Furtwängler, Germany

Luke Garratt, Australia

Roberta Giordano, Italy

Jennifer L. Goldman, USA

Suzanne Hagler, USA

Gillian C. Hall, UK

Benjamin Handen, USA

Philip Hazell, Australia

Pieter Hoekstra, the Netherlands

Stephen P. Hunger, USA

Alfonso Iorio, Canada

Lulu Jia, China

Kathrin Jobski, Germany

Gudmundur Johannsson, Sweden

Vivian Kafantaris, USA

Hyoung Jin Kang, Republic of Korea

Yusuf Cem Kaplan, Turkey

Vikram Kate, India

Robert M. Kennedy, USA

Carl Kirkwood, USA

Catherijne A. J. Knibbe, The Netherlands

Suresh Kotagal, USA

Eran Kozer, Israel

Jin-Won Kwon, Republic of Korea

Theodore Laetsch, USA

Lieven Lagae, Belgium

Cecilie Lander, Australia

Cecilie Johannessen Landmark, Norway

Maryse Lapeyre-Mestre, France

Sandra Le Quellec, France

Wojciech Leppert, Poland

Kevin Madden, USA

Akhil Maheshwari, USA

Johnny N. Mahlangu, South Africa

Christoph Male, Austria

David Mandelbaum, USA

Edoardo Marrani, Italy

Matthew T. McCarthy, USA

Francis F. Megraud, France

Maurizio Mennini, Italy

Jamie L. Miller, USA

Frederic Millot, France

Kirsten Minden, Germany

Adrian Miranda, USA

Kouji Miyazaki, Japan

Constance Monitto, USA

Hayat M. Mousa, USA

Elizabeth Mullen, USA

Kristen R. Nichols, USA

Yusuke Okubo, Japan

Courtney Olson-Chen, USA

Keliana O’Mara, USA

Monika Ostensen, Switzerland

Gayatri Palat, India

Yong-Ha Park, Republic of Korea

Suzanne Parker, Australia

Phillip L. Pearl, USA

Linny K. Phuong, Australia

Robert M. Post, USA

Colin V. Powell, UK

Samantha Jayne Prime, Australia

Markus Rauchenzauner, Germany

Amira S. E. Refay, Egypt

Claudio Romano, Italy

John M. Rosen, USA

Jesus Ruiz Ramos, Spain

Niharika Samala, USA

Regina Sawamura, Brazil

Valentina Shakhnovich, USA

Allan F. Simpao, USA

Brian G. Skotko, USA

P. Brian Smith, USA

Annamaria A. Staiano, Italy

Adam Sutherland, UK

Xuemei Tang, China

Jennifer Taylor-Cousar, USA

Catherine Tuleu, UK

Eva Untersmayr, Austria

Sven Christiaan van Dijkman, The Netherlands

Michiel P. van Wijk, The Netherlands

Suellen M. Walker, UK

Siri Wang, Norway

Adilia Warris, UK

Daniel W. Wheeler, UK

Sean Wilson, USA

Naomi Winick, USA

Cameron R. Wolfe, USA

Gaetano Zaccara, Italy

Nava Zisapel, Israel


In addition, we would like to thank the members of the journal’s Honorary Editorial Board, who have acted as peer reviewers and authors, and have provided guidance on journal content, policy and processes:


Marina Aloi, Rome, Italy

John Berkenbosch, Louisville, KY, USA

Frank M. C. Besag, London, UK

Stan L. Block, Bardstown, KY, USA

Andrew Bush, London, UK

Rolando Cimaz, Florence, Italy

Saskia de Wildt, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Brian Eley, Cape Town, South Africa

Susanna Esposito, Milan, Italy

Robert L. Findling, Baltimore, MD, USA

Dominic Fitzgerald, Westmead, Australia

Jennifer E. Girotto, Hartford, CT, USA

David A. Gremse, Mobile, AL, USA

Andreas H. Groll, Münster, Germany

Scott A. Halperin, Nova Scotia, Canada

Julian Hamilton-Shield, Bristol, UK

Gregory L. Holmes, Burlington, VT, USA

Gregory L. Kearns, Little Rock, AR, USA

Desiree Kunac, Dunedin, New Zealand

Stephen Lowis, Bristol, UK

Stuart M. MacLeod, Vancouver, Canada

Antje Neubert, Erlangen, Germany

Kathleen A. Neville, Little Rock, AR, USA

Terry Nolan, Parkville, Australia

Michael E. Pichichero, Rochester, NY, USA

Emmanuel Roilides, Thessaloniki, Greece

Catherine M. Sherwin, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

Robert Sidbury, Seattle, WA, USA,

William M. Splinter, Ottawa, Canada

John van den Anker, Washington, DC, USA

Diana A. van Riet-Nales, Utrecht, The Netherlands

Karen D. Wagner, Galveston, TX, USA

Hervé Walti, Paris, France

Ian C. Wong, London, UK

C Michel Zwaan, Rotterdam, The Netherlands


We do hope that you have found the articles published throughout the year in Pediatric Drugs to be interesting and informative. The editorial schedule for 2019 is well under way, and we are looking forward to bringing you many high-quality and authoritative articles over the coming year.


With best wishes, Rod McNab