Drug dosing errors in simulated paediatric emergencies – Comprehensive dosing guides outperform length-based tapes with precalculated drug doses

ConclusionsBoth an accurate weight estimation and a dosing guide with comprehensive information were necessary to produce an accurate prescription. The information on the Broselow tape was not sufficient for this purpose. The current guidelines recommending the use of tapes with limited information should be revised. The results from the comprehensive dosing guides were substantially better, but still had a lower proportion of accurate prescriptions than desirable. The role of training in every aspect of the emergency paediatric weight estimation and drug dosing procedure cannot be underestimated and should be routine in any environment where emergency care may be needed.
Source: African Journal of Emergency Medicine - Category: Emergency Medicine Source Type: research