PPT Slide
What do people use to measure liquid medicine*?
- 75% use household teaspoons
- 50% use medicine cups
- 37% use a dosing spoon
- 28% use a dosing syringe
- 21% use a measuring spoon
• The volume of a teaspoon may vary from 2 to 10 mL.
The correct volume for a teaspoon should be 5 mL.
• When using a medicine cup, 15% of people gave the wrong dose.
• Poison control centers show 3 major dosing errors of medicine cups:
• confusing tablespoons for teaspoons
• assuming the whole cup was the unit of measure (e.g. 1 spoonful)
• assuming the whole cup was the recommended dose
• A study of over 1100 medication errors in pediatrics showed that
ALL of them involved overdosing errors.
• The best tools are the medication dosing syringe or dosing spoon.
• Encourage patients to use a dosing syringe or medication spoon.
• Mark the correct dose with a line.
• Make sure they understand all directions and dosages.
• Check to see if patients know the proper dose. As a child grows, parents
may forget to adjust the dose for the weight and age of their child.
• Visually impaired or elderly patients may need extra help.
*Madlon-Kay, D.J. & Mosch, F. S. (2000). Liquid medication dosing errors. Journal of Family Practice 49(8):741-744.