Spoons Systematically Bias Dosing of Liquid Medicine
Authors: Brian Wansink
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2010)

Letters5 January 2010Spoons Systematically Bias Dosing of Liquid MedicineBrian Wansink, PhD and Koert van Ittersum, PhDBrian Wansink, PhDFrom Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853. and Koert van Ittersum, PhDFrom Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853.Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-152-1-201001050-00024 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Background: Spoon dosing has been identified as a major cause of dosing errors and pediatric poisonings (1). Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends against using kitchen utensils to dose liquid medicine (2), most persons still use spoons when pouring medicine for themselves and their families (3). Although dosing errors remain modest when using kitchen teaspoons, they may increase when using various sizes of larger spoons (4). If the size of a spoon leads a teaspoonful of liquid medicine to seem like markedly more or less than 5 mL (5), a person may compensate by under- or overdosing (Figure).... References1. Litovitz T. Implication of dispensing cups in dosing errors and pediatric poisonings: a report from the American Association of Poison Control Centers. Ann Pharmacother. 1992;26:917-8. [PMID: 1504399] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Nonprescription cough and cold medicine use in children—full version. Accessed at www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/DrugSafetyPodcasts/ucm078927.htm on 28 June 2009. Google Scholar3. Madlon-Kay DJ, Mosch FS. Liquid medication dosing errors. J Fam Pract. 2000;49:741-4. [PMID: 10947142] MedlineGoogle Scholar4. Aziz AH, Khaleel AJ. How accurate are household spoons in drug administration? Med Princ Pract. 1990/1991;2:106-9. Google Scholar5. Delboeuf FJ. [Note on certain optical illusions: essay on a psychophysical theory concerning the way in which the eye evaluates distances and angles.] Bulletins de l'Académie Royale des Sciences. Lettres et Beaux-arts de Belgique. 1865;19:195-216. Google Scholar6. Wansink B, van Ittersum K. Shape of glass and amount of alcohol poured: comparative study of effect of practice and concentration. BMJ. 2005;331:1512-4. [PMID: 16373735] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853.Disclosures: None disclosed. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byA Systematic Review: Dietary Habits of Women with Gynecological Cancer before, during and after TreatmentEffects of Lighting, Liquid Color, and Drink Container Type on Volume PerceptionEffect of Viewing Angle on Volume Perceptions for Paired TumblersHealth Literacy and Child Health Outcomes: Parental Health Literacy and Medication ErrorsStop spoon dosing: milliliter instructions reduce inclination to spoon dosingPediatrician's cough and cold medication prescription for hypothetical cases – A cross-sectional multi-centric studyPortion Size: What We Know and What We Need to KnowCommunicating Doses of Pediatric Liquid Medicines to Parents/Caregivers: A Comparison of Written Dosing Directions on Prescriptions with Labels Applied by Dispensed PharmacyAntibiotic Prescribing in Ambulatory Pediatrics in the United StatesEvaluating Parents and Adult Caregivers as "Agents of Change" for Treating Obese Children: Evidence for Parent Behavior Change Strategies and Research GapsEffects of safety warnings on prescription rates of cough and cold medicines in children below 2 years of ageDosing medication with kitchen spoons could be dangerousNews in brief 5 January 2010Volume 152, Issue 1Page: 66-67KeywordsConflicts of interestPoisoning ePublished: 5 January 2010 Issue Published: 5 January 2010 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2010 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...