ED Accreditation Update: Sentinel Event Alert: Use metric system for weighing children
ED Accreditation Update
Sentinel Event Alert: Use metric system for weighing children
ED managers who treat pediatric patients should always have their staff weigh them in kilograms, since that method is the one used to arrived at dosing guidelines, noted experts speaking at a April 11, 2008, teleconference conducted by The Joint Commission.
The teleconference was held with the publication of the Sentinel Event Alert titled: "Preventing pediatric medication errors." (Editor's note: The Alert can be found at: www.jointcommission.org.)
"One of the greatest challenges is that most all medications are formulated and packaged for adults," added Peter Angood, MD, vice president and chief patient safety officer for The Joint Commission. "This alert was issued not only to raise awareness [of the problems of pediatric medication errors], but to give practical strategies to improve care."
The Joint Commission's recommendations for administering medications to children "are first, administration should be in metrics, and second, don't dispense medications before weighing the patient," he says.
Safeguards and communication are also key issues, Angood noted. "Caregivers should write out [the prescription] and say how they arrived at the dose — show the math and show the dose per weight or body surface area," he said. "This can easily be double-checked" by another staff member, Angood said.
Repeating back orders from the person administering the order — such as a nurse — to the person giving the order, or by the patient or parent also is important, added Angood, noting that currently compliance is only at 50%.
ED managers who treat pediatric patients should always have their staff weigh them in kilograms, since that method is the one used to arrived at dosing guidelines, noted experts speaking at a April 11, 2008, teleconference conducted by The Joint Commission.Subscribe Now for Access
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