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When it comes to medicines, SI is universal. The British Weights and Measures Association is simply using the decimal problem as a way to attack SI, not to suggest a remedy. However, some of the people they quote, such as the coroner, do suggest the solution that I have proposed: use whole numbers wherever possible. Michael Glass On 10/10/11 12:07 AM, "John M. Steele" <jmsteele9...@sbcglobal.net> wrote: > Does BWMA propose a solution (I can't open their document; it "crashes" my > version of Word insisting something be loaded off the master disk, then can't > find it). > > I'm wondering what they do when doses are less than 1 grain, or blood tests > below 1 grain per pint. > > --- On Sun, 10/9/11, Michael GLASS <m.gl...@optusnet.com.au> wrote: >> >> From: Michael GLASS <m.gl...@optusnet.com.au> >> Subject: [USMA:51205] Damned Decimals? >> To: "U.S. Metric Association" <usma@colostate.edu> >> Date: Sunday, October 9, 2011, 12:22 AM >> >> I was reading the November 2010 edition of "The Yardstick" the Journal of >> the British Weights and Measures Association , no. 43. See >> http://www.bwmaonline.com/ >> >> An article in this issue highlighted the problem caused by the use of >> decimals in prescriptions. They can result in patients receiving 10 or even >> 100 times the dose of the medicine prescribed. Here are some of the accounts >> quoted in the article: >> >> * Building a safer NHS for patients "Errors in prescribing for children >> frequently arise because of poor handwriting, misinterpretation of decimal >> points and calculation errors. Misplaced decimal points can result in 10- or >> 100-fold dosing errors. Despite widespread awareness of the risk, decimal >> point errors involving potent druge, notably digoxin and poiates, continue >> to occur. These can be fatal." >> >> * Confusion between the si unit for litre and the number 1. The Greek symbol >> for micro is often misread as m (milli) particularly if the handwriting is >> poor. (University of Nottingham) >> >> * A four month old baby killed because a doctor's receptionist made out the >> baby's prescription as a dosage of 5 ml twice a day instead of 0.5ml.(Report >> in the Daily Mail, 30 January 2010) >> >> * An emergency Asthma Care Pack recalled because of a misprint of the dosage >> of IV Salbutamol as 250 milligrams instead of 250 micrograms. Administering >> the incorrect dose could result in serious and possibly fatal consequences >> for some patients. (Asthma UK, 16 May 2007) >> >> * Following the death of a 2-week old baby who was given a dose of digoxin >> of 0.8mg instead of 0.08mg, the coroner said: "I feel very strongly that in >> calculating drugs it would be much simpler to use small denominations when >> one can deal in full numbers." >> >> I believe that the coroner was right. Decimals should not be used. Medicine >> should be manipulated with whole numbers. Perhaps micrograms could be used >> for all medicines. What do others think? >> >> Best wishes, >> >> Michael GlassIt contained an article which condemned the >> >> >
