Pediatric OTC analgesics: "only" 30% of caregivers give accurate dose, study finds.
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
PEDIATRIC OTC ANALGESIC DOSING: 30% OF CAREGIVERS ACCURATELY MEASURE the correct amount of OTC analgesic for their child, Harold Simon, MD, and David Weinkle, MD, Emory University, found in a study published in the July issue of the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. Simon et al. determined that 43 of 100 caregivers studied measured a correct dose of pediatric acetaminophen for their child, but "30% (13/43) of these did so strictly by accident -- because they inaccurately measured an improper intended dose." The study was a mock dosing scenario.