Liquid medications are often delivered using medicine dosing cups to help with administration of the correct dose. However, it’s common for parents to make mistakes when using dosing cups to measure out liquid medicine for their children, according to a study published in the February 2010 issue of Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.

Researchers from New York University School of Medicine and their colleagues observed 302 parents using 2 types of dosing cups to measure liquid medications in order to determine dose accuracy. One of the dosing cups was printed with calibration markings and other was printed with etched markings. Dose accuracy was also measured when using a dropper, dosing spoon, or oral syringe. Doses were considered to be accurate if they were within 20 percent of the recommended dose. The researchers found that only 30.5 percent of parents dosed accurately using the dosing cups with printed markings, and only 50.2 percent dosed accurately using the dosing cups with etched markings. Meanwhile, over 85 percent of the parents in the study dosed accurately with the other measuring instruments.

Dosing mistakes are the most common reason for preventable adverse drug events in children. In this study, both the type of measuring instrument and the level of health literacy affected the likelihood of making a dosing mistake. Although most of these dosing mistakes result in only minor side effects, it seems that dosing cups are the least effective of the available dosage delivery devices for achieving dose accuracy. Both parents and healthcare providers should be aware of the dosing mistakes associated with dosing cups so preventable errors can be avoided.

Source:

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2010;164(2):181-186.