Recommendations Issued on Reducing Pediatric Medication Errors in the ED

Experts convened by the Emergency Medical Services for Children program and the American Academy of Pediatrics have issued recommendations aimed at reducing medication errors among children seen in the emergency department.

Here are some of the highlights, published in Pediatrics:

• Clinicians should measure and record weight in kilograms only.

• Standardized delivery devices should be dispensed for home use of liquid medications; dosing for liquids should always be in milliliters.

• Dosing instructions for home use of medications should be based on pictograms.

• Concentrations of high-risk medications, such as resuscitation drugs, vasoactive infusions, narcotics, and antibiotics, should be standardized.