There is also a good article in the Jan/Feb issue of Metric Today (p. 7). The FDA is recommending a "dosage delivery device" with all OTC liquid medications. It also seeks to reduce errors by requiring the units in the directions to agree with the units on the device. It is a good first step, but it could go further and be more effective in reducing errors.
It would still allow multiple systems of units, they just have to agree. Devices showinng measurements in multiple units are more complex and therefore more confusing. They should take the next step of specifying milliliters (symbol: mL) and ONLY milliliters. There are links in the article to locate the FDA proposal. Interested members should read it and send comments to the FDA. . ________________________________ From: James R. Frysinger <[email protected]> To: U.S. Metric Association <[email protected]> Sent: Thu, January 14, 2010 10:35:23 AM Subject: [USMA:46405] A spoonful of medicine This LA Times article appeared in today's Tennessean (Nashville). It's good to see this advice being published. Jim January 14, 2010 A spoonful of medicine may be too much, or not enough By Amina Khan LOS ANGELES TIMES "Heaping" teaspoon or "level"? That's the nail-biting dilemma that usually confronts amateur boulangeries as they mix baking soda or salt into their cake batter. In medicine, though, the unreliability of your average spoon — and by average spoon, we mean a tool more commonly used to stir sugar into coffee — can create far more serious problems. In a study in the Jan. 5 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers asked student patients at the Cornell University health clinic to pour out 5 milliliters of cold medicine into different-size kitchen spoons. The researchers found that participants expressed confidence in their measuring abilities, and yet "underdosed by 8.4 percent when using the medium-size spoon and overdosed by 11.6 percent when using the larger spoon." That may sound minimal, but consider someone who's making that same mistake three to five times a day for a seven-day regimen. That can add up. Overdosing can mean nasty and troublesome side effects. Underdosing — on an antibiotic, for example — can lead to drug-resistant bacteria, ultimately rendering the medication ineffective. The lesson? Use a proper device — a measuring cap, a syringe or a dosing spoon — to make that medicine go down. And parents, before you pour any liquid into your kid's spoon (accurate or not), make sure you have the proper dose for your child's age and weight. Source: http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100114/FEATURES04/1140313/A+spoonful+of+medicine+may+be+too+much++or+not+enough -- James R. Frysinger 632 Stony Point Mountain Road Doyle, TN 38559-3030 (C) 931.212.0267 (H) 931.657.3107 (F) 931.657.3108
