Dosing Errors Increased When Parents Used Dosing Cups, Pediatric Study Finds

Dosing Errors Increased When Parents Used Dosing Cups, Pediatric Study Finds  Parents who used dosing cups to give their child medication were more likely to make a dosing error, indicates a new study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The study found that dosing cups were less reliable than an oral syringe in terms of dosage causing parents to give their child too much or not enough medicine, indicatesHealthDay. Parents may ask for an oral syringe from their doctor or pharmacist if one is not provided.  To promote the safe use of pediatric liquid medications, the authors of the study encouraged the use of oral syringes for measuring liquid medications, especially for smaller doses. “[This] change would probably benefit all families, regardless of health literacy and language,” noted the authors. Their findings also support avoiding the use of “teaspoon” on labels. Thestudy, Liquid Medication Errors and Dosing Tools: A Randomized Controlled Experiment, is available online in the October 2016 issue of Pediatrics.  The Know Your Dosecampaign has information for parents on giving the right amount of medicine to children. In particular, the campaign’s guide(PDF) on acetaminophen for infants and children has advice on measuring with the two dosing devices: oral syringe or plastic cup. The Use Safely section on the AWARXE website also has information for parents on how to correctly administer medications to children so that parents can avoid errors and keep the children in their care safe.