AAP Publishes Policy Statement on Metric Dosing of Liquid Meds

By Amy Orciari Herman

Edited by Susan Sadoughi, MD, and André Sofair, MD, MPH

When prescribing oral, liquid medications for children, only metric-based dosing with milliliters should be used "to avoid confusion and dosing errors associated with common kitchen spoons," according to a new policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Among the other recommendations for prescribing liquid medicines, published in Pediatrics:

• "mL" is the only acceptable abbreviation for milliliter; "ml," "ML," and "cc" should not be used.

• Medications should be dosed to the nearest 0.1, 0.5, or 1 mL; they should not be dosed to the nearest hundredth. (Leading zeros [e.g., 0.5] should be used; trailing zeros after whole numbers [e.g., 5.0] should not.)

• The frequency of administration should be clear on prescriptions; potentially confusing abbreviations should be avoided (e.g., use "daily" rather than "qd," as the latter could be mistaken for "qid").

• Pediatricians should explain milliliter-based dosing to families when they prescribe liquid medicines.