Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Medication Errors For Kids With ADHD Are Surging


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Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CxqwcB1RAYT/


The frequency of serious medication errors in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorders has nearly tripled over the past 22 years.  This according to a survey of our nation’s poison control centers by pediatric investigators at Ohio State University and Nationwide Children’s Hospital.


The data revealed that two-thirds of the most serious errors occurred in children 6 to 12 years of age, three-fourths occurred in males and half involved amphetamines.  Not surprisingly, kids under the age of 6 were twice as likely as older children to have a serious medical complication from incorrect dosing.  The most common errors involved giving children duplicate doses in 54% of cases, giving a child an incorrect medication in 13% of cases, or administering a medication prescribed for another child in another 13% of cases.


It is ironic that children suffering from attention issues are the victims of sloppy medication management by caregivers who are distracted and NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO DETAIL.


https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/doi/10.1542/peds.2023-061942/193956/Pediatric-ADHD-Medication-Errors-Reported-to?autologincheck=redirected


#adhd #attentiondeficit #medicationerrors #children #pediatrics #poisoncontrol


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Dr. Howard Smith ReportsBy Howard G. Smith MD, AM