Advertisement	October 29, 2014 Young Children Frequent Victims of Inadvertent Medication Errors Columbus, OH—Every 8 minutes, a young child is a victim of an out-of-hospital medication error, usually because of a misstep on the part of a parent or caregiver. That’s according to a new study from Nationwide Children’s Hospital researchers in Columbus, Ohio. The report, published recently in the journal Pediatrics, notes that, in the decade between 2001 and 2012, medication errors annually affected 63,000 children under 6 years old. Most commonly, medication errors occurred when painkillers or fever-reducers such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen were administered in the home, another residence, or school, the authors write. Study data came from the National Poison Database System, the most comprehensive and accurate database available for investigation of pediatric out-of-hospital medication errors in the United States, according to the researchers. The report notes that the number and rate of medication error events decreased with increasing child age, with children younger than a year old accounting for 25.2% of episodes. Analgesics (25.2%) were most commonly involved in medication errors, followed by cough and cold preparations (24.6%). Although cough and cold medication errors decreased significantly, the number (42.9% increase) and rate (37.2% increase) of all other medication errors rose significantly during the study period, according to the results. Nearly all of the medication errors involved ingestion, with 27.0% attributed to inadvertently taking or being given medication twice. Most cases were managed outside of a health care facility; but medical care was sought in 4.4% of cases, with 0.4% of the children admitted to a noncritical care unit; 0.3% admitted to a critical care unit; and 25 children dying as a result of the errors. “This is more common than people may realize,” said senior author Huiyun Xiang, MD, MPH, PhD, director of the Center for Pediatric Trauma Research at Nationwide Children's Hospital. “The numbers we report still underestimate the true magnitude of these incidents since these are just cases reported to national poison centers.” In addition to giving a child the medication twice, common types of medication errors were misreading dosing instructions or administering the wrong medication, according to the study. “There are public health strategies being used to decrease the frequency and severity of medication errors among young children,” said co-author Henry Spiller, director of the Central Ohio Poison Center. “Product packaging needs to be redesigned in a way that provides accurate dosing devices and instructions, and better labeling to increase visibility to parents.” ​ Click here for October 29, 2014 USP Weekly News Update.
	U.S. Pharmacist Social Connect