Inconsistent dosage directions on kids’ medications

There are serious inconsistencies between dosage directions and measuring devices in 200 children’s liquid non-prescription medications, according to a U.S. study in The Journal of the American Medical Association.

About 75 percent of the products came with a measuring device, of which 99 percent had some degree of inconsistency between the device and dosing instructions on the package. Nearly one quarter of all devices lacked sufficient markings.

Inconsistent units of measurement also posed a problem. In almost 90 percent of the products, the units stated in the instructions were different than those marked on the device. Almost all of the products used different abbreviations for millimetre rather than the standard mL, and the majority did not spell out the abbreviation.

As a result of their findings, study authors recommended that all non-prescription liquid medications should come with a measuring device, that this measuring device should be consistent with all dosing directions, and that the units, abbreviations and numeric formats should be standardized across all products.

In the interest of public health, especially for children as the cold and flu season approaches, study results have been released online ahead of print publication.