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Decrease in therapeutic errors involving prescription cough and cold medications in young children

Suzanne Doyon1, Yolande Tra, Wendy Klein-Schwartz

  • 1University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Maryland Poison Center, Baltimore, Maryland.

The Journal of Pediatric Pharmacology and Therapeutics : JPPT : the Official Journal of PPAG
|November 3, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Following the 2007 withdrawal of over-the-counter cough and cold medications (CCM), poison center calls for therapeutic errors involving prescription CCM in young children did not increase. Instead, a significant decrease in these medication errors was observed.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Pharmacology
  • Medication Safety
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Over-the-counter cough and cold medications (CCM) were voluntarily withdrawn in October 2007.
  • Concerns existed regarding potential increases in therapeutic errors with prescription CCM following this withdrawal.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine if therapeutic errors involving prescription CCM increased in children under 2 years after the 2007 over-the-counter CCM withdrawal.
  • To analyze trends in poison center calls related to prescription CCM errors.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective analysis of therapeutic errors involving prescription CCM in children under 2 years.
  • Data collected for 33 months prior and 27 months after the October 2007 withdrawal.
  • Calculated annual counts and rates per person-month for errors.

Main Results:

  • Total annual therapeutic errors involving prescription CCM decreased from 452 to 337 in children under 2.
  • Error rates declined by 25.6%, from 0.43 to 0.32 cases/100,000 person-month (p<0.0001).
  • No increase in poison center calls for these errors was observed post-withdrawal.

Conclusions:

  • The withdrawal of over-the-counter CCM was not associated with an increase in harm from prescription CCM therapeutic errors in young children.
  • A significant decrease in therapeutic errors involving prescription CCM was documented after the withdrawal.
Abstract

Keywords:
cough and cold medicationspoison centertherapeutic errors

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