H. Shonna Yin|Alan L. Mendelsohn|Michael S. Wolf|Ruth M. Parker|Arthur H. Fierman|Linda van Schaick|Isabel Bazán|Matthew D. Kline|Benard P. Dreyer
Parents' Medication Administration Errors
h3objectivesh3 assess parents liquid medication administration errors dosing instrument type examine degree parents health literacy influences dosing accuracy h3designh3 experimental study h3settingh3 interviews conducted public hospital pediatric clinic new york new york october 28 2008 december 24 2008 h3participantsh3 three hundred two parents children presenting care enrolled h3main outcome measuresh3 parents observed dosing accuracy 5ml dose using set standardized instruments 2 dosing cups one printed calibration markings etched markings dropper dosing spoon 2 oral syringes one without bottle adapter h3resultsh3 percentages parents dosing accurately within 20 recommended dose 305 using cup printed markings 502 using cup etched markings 85 dosed accurately remaining instruments large dosing errors gt40 deviation made 258 parents using cup printed markings 233 parents using cup etched markings adjusted analyses cups associated increased odds making dosing error gt20 deviation compared oral syringe cup printed markings adjusted odds ratio aor 267 95 confidence interval ci 168424 cup etched markings aor 110 95 ci 72168 compared oral syringe cups also associated increased odds making large dosing errors cup printed markings aor 73 95 ci 41132 cup etched markings aor 63 95 ci 35112 limited health literacy associated making dosing error aor 17 95 ci 1128 h3conclusionsh3 dosing errors parents highly prevalent cups compared droppers spoons syringes strategies reduce errors address accurate use dosing instruments health literacy