british national formulary for children british national formulary for children bnf for children (bnfc) is the standard uk paediatric reference for prescribing and pharmacology. bnf for children the standard cover design is easily identified with each annual edition distinguished by a different jacket colour. the edition pictured is the 2016-2017 edition.authorpharmaceutical press, the royal pharmaceutical society's knowledge businesscountryunited kingdomlanguagebritish englishsubjectmedicine, pharmacygenremedicines informationpublisherbmj, pharmaceutical press, royal college of paediatrics and child health, neonatal & paediatric pharmacists group publication dateseptember 2022 (2022-2023 edition)media typepaperback print, digital online, smartphone apppages1287isbn978-0-85711-429-7oclc1338670038websitewww.bnf.org it contains a wide range of information and advice on prescribing for children - from newborn to adolescence. the entries are classified by group of drug, giving cautions for use, side effects, indications and dose for most of the drugs available for children in the uk national health service. it also includes information on the unlicensed uses of certain drugs. though published in and for the united kingdom, the vast bulk of the clinical information will apply in any country. authorship and publication the bnfc is jointly published annually by bmj (owned by the bma), pharmaceutical press (owned by the rps), royal college of paediatrics and child health, and the neonatal and paediatric pharmacists group. the principal contributors are acknowledged in the front pages. it is overseen by the bnfc paediatric formulary committee and edited by a team of pharmacists. history the bnf for children developed from the british national formulary (bnf), which prior to 2005 had provided information on the treatment of children, with the doses largely determined by calculations based on the body weight of the child. the guidance was provided by pharmacists and doctors whose expertise was in the care of adults. this was an anomaly, as in relation to responses to medicines, the difference between a newborn and a sixteen year old is greater than the difference between a sixteen year old and a sixty year old. starting in 2002, prof martin kendall, then chairman of the bnf joint formulary committee worked to get things changed. the uk department of health (now the dhsc) agreed to fund the bnfc, as it does the bnf, to ensure that nhs clinicians can have up to date information in their pockets. the first edition was published in 2005, with george rylance chairing the paediatric formulary committee and dinesh mehta as the first executive editor. anne, the princess royal attended the launch on 14 july. editions the bnfc is published annually, but electronic updates are produced monthly. the current 2022-2023 edition was published in september 2022. availability though not aimed at the general public, the bnfc, like the bnf, is available for purchase. it is provided to nhs staff - usually through their employer, but may be accessed online through medicinescomplete. the app is available through the usual app stores. contents how bnf publications are constructed how to use bnf publications in print changes guidance on prescribing prescription writing supply of medicines emergency supply of medicines controlled drugs and drug dependence adverse reactions to drugs guidance on intravenous infusions prescribing in hepatic impairment prescribing in renal impairment prescribing in pregnancy prescribing in breast-feeding prescribing in palliative care drugs and sport medicines optimisation antimicrobial stewardship prescribing in dental practice notes on drugs and preparations 1 gastro-intestinal system 2 cardiovascular system 3 respiratory system 4 nervous system 5 infection 6 endocrine system 7 genito-urinary system 8 immune system and malignant disease 9 blood and nutrition 10 musculoskeletal system 11 eye 12 ear, nose and oropharynx 13 skin 14 vaccines 15 anaesthesia 16 emergency treatment of poisoning appendices and indices interactions borderline substances cautionary and advisory labels for dispensed medicines dental practitioners’ formulary nurse prescribers’ formulary non-medical prescribing index of manufacturers special-order manufacturers index medical emergencies in the community