Spoonfuls Of Medicine Could Lead To Potentially Dangerous Dosing Mistakes

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PHOENIX — A new study has found that measuring medicine doses by “spoonfuls” is an imprecise measurement and can result in potentially dangerous dosing mistakes. 

The results, according to Fox Latino News, recomment that droppers and syringes that come with the proper measurements in mililiters be used for liquid medicines instead, and not the spoon. 

The study done by Pediatrics involved nearly 300 parents, mostly Hispanics, with children younger than 9-years-old. 

The children were treated for illnesses at two New York emergency rooms and given prescriptions for liquid medicines, mostly antibiotics. 

Parents were contacted afterward and asked by phone how they had measured the prescribed doses. They also brought their measuring devices to the researchers’ offices to demonstrate doses they’d given their kids.

It was concluded that parents who used spoonfuls were 50% more likely to give their children the wrong doses than those who used the correct milliliter unites.