Study: Doses on measuring cups in children's meds flawed

Measuring cups used to give children the right amount of liquid cough, cold, pain and allergy medicines last year were flawed, with hard-to-read markings that didn't match the recommended dosing, a study found.

The investigation into 200 bestselling children's remedies in 2009 found the danger was substantial, said researchers led by Shonna Yin, a pediatrician at the New York University School of Medicine and Bellevue Hospital Center. Three of every four medicines sold over the counter included measuring devices, and 99 percent of them failed to match the directions and units of measurement given on the box.

The results of the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association may be used to evaluate how well companies that make over-the-counter children's medicines improve their products, the researchers said. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued guidelines for the labels on nonprescription liquid children's medicines and measuring devices last year after numerous overdoses were attributed to confusing labels.

"At the time the FDA issued its voluntary guidance, almost all commonly purchased pediatric nonprescription liquid medications contained dosing directions and measuring devices that were highly variable and inconsistent," the researchers said. "At this time, the FDA's guidelines are voluntary, and companies have no legal obligation to follow them. Regulatory oversight may be helpful in accelerating adoption of the guidance recommendations."

Doctors should also be aware of the inconsistencies and help ensure parents and caregivers know the correct treatment for their children, Darren DeWalt, a pediatrician and internal medicine physician at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, wrote in an editorial. "The most elegant and efficient medical therapies will fail if patients or caregivers cannot adequately and accurately administer the therapy," he wrote.