Unit of measurement used and parent medication dosing errors.

Shonna Yin; Benard P Dreyer; Donna C Ugboaja; Dayana C Sanchez; Ian M Paul; Hannah A Moreira; Luis Rodriguez; Alan Mendelsohn

Study

Unit of measurement used and parent medication dosing errors.

July 30, 2014

Yin S, Dreyer BP, Ugboaja DC, et al. Pediatrics. 2014;134(2):e354-61.

View more articles from the same authors.

This study found that parents given pediatric medication instructions using milliliter-only units made half as many dosing errors as parents that used teaspoon or tablespoon units. Non-english speakers and those with low health literacy were most vulnerable to dosing errors. The authors advocate for moving to a milliliter-only standard to reduce confusion and improve medication safety for children.

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Administration Errors

Epidemiology of Errors and Adverse Events

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