Communicating Doses of Pediatric Liquid Medicines to Parents/Caregivers: A Comparison of Written Dosing Directions on Prescriptions with Labels Applied by Dispensed Pharmacy

ObjectiveTo identify and compare volumetric measures used by healthcare providers in communicating dosing instructions for pediatric liquid prescriptions to parents/caregivers.Study designDosing 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.ResultsOf 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.ConclusionVolumetric 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.