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Abstract

Objective: To identify and compare volumetric measures used by healthcare providers in communicating dosing instructions for pediatric liquid prescriptions to parents/caregivers. Study design: Dosing instructions were retrospectively reviewed for the 10 most frequently prescribed liquid medications dispensed from 4 community pharmacies for patients aged #12 years during a 3-month period. Volumetric measures on original prescriptions (ie, milliliters, teaspoons) were compared with those utilized by the pharmacist on the pharmacy label dispensed to the parent/caregiver. Results: Of 649 prescriptions and corresponding pharmacy labels evaluated, 68% of prescriptions and 62% of pharmacy labels communicated dosing in milliliters, 24% of prescriptions and 29% of pharmacy labels communicated dosing in teaspoonfuls, 7% of prescriptions and 0% of pharmacy labels communicated dosing in other measures (ie, milligrams, cubic centimeters, ?dose?), and 25% of dispensed pharmacy labels did not reflect units as written in the prescription. Conclusion: Volumetric measures utilized by healthcare professionals in dosing instructions for prescription pediatric oral liquid medications are not consistent. Healthcare professionals and parents/caregivers should be educated on safe dosing practices for liquid pediatric medications. Generalizability to the larger pediatric population may vary depending on pharmacy chain, location, and medications evaluated.

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