Question

Prevention of pediatric medication errors include which of the following when a drug is measured in decimals?

a) using a zero to the right of a decimal
b) using a zero to the left of a decimal
c) never adding a zero
d) expressing the drug dose in fractions rather than decimals

Answer 1

To prevent pediatric medication errors, a zero should be used to the left of a decimal point to enhance clarity and prevent ambiguity. Zeros to the right of a decimal can imply an inaccurate level of precision and should be avoided.

Step-by-step explanation:

Prevention of pediatric medication errors when a drug is measured in decimals includes using a zero to the left of a decimal, but not to the right of a decimal. This is known as a leading zero, and it is important because it helps to prevent dosage errors by clarifying the precision of the dose. For example, the dose 0.5 is clearer than .5 as it explicitly shows the tenths place. However, adding a zero to the right of a decimal, such as 0.50, can be ambiguous because it can imply a greater degree of accuracy than what is necessary or true. Furthermore, expressing the drug dose in factors can also reduce errors, as this may prevent misinterpretation that can happen with decimals.