Oral syringes with millilitre measurements are safer than dosing cups for administration of medication for children

Abstract

Aim: Medication labels use various measurement units that may differ from the units on tools used to measure doses. The study compared combinations of units and tools to see which reduced errors. Design: Randomised control trial. Caregivers randomly allocated to one of five groups. Groups differed in the pairing of units used on medication label and units of dosing tool. Intervention: All caregivers were asked to measure three liquid doses, as instructed on label, using three different dosing tools. Allocation: Random number generator, blocked by site, in sets of 100 (20 per group) used to randomise caregivers to groups. Blinding: Neither assessors nor caregivers blinded after assignment. Setting: Three paediatric outpatient clinics across USA. Participants: Parents or legal guardians of children aged ≤8 years who presented …