FDA public health alert: potential dosing errors with Tamiflu for Oral Suspension
Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Pediatric Therapeutics and
Center for Drug Evaluation and Research
Confusion in dosing Tamiflu for Oral Suspension has resultedin dosing errors. These errors occurred because the dosing dispenserpackaged with the product has markings only in milligrams (mg),while the dosing instructions provided to the patient were writtenin milliliters (mL) or teaspoons (tsp).
Health care providers should write doses in mg if the dosingdispenser with the drug is in mg. Pharmacists should ensurethat the units of measure on the prescription instructions matchthe dosing device provided with the drug.
Following are specific considerations for Tamiflu for Oral Suspensiondosing for children older than 1 year of age:
Dosing should be prescribed in mg (see tables below). Caregiversshoulduse the dosing dispenser packaged with the medication,unlessotherwise directed by a health care provider.
If the dosingdispenser packaged with Tamiflu oral suspensionis lost or damaged,or if the prescriber wishes to use volume-baseddosing, appropriatedosages in mL also are provided in the table.In these cases,the prescriber and pharmacist should ensurethat a dosing dispenser(e.g., an oral syringe calibrated inmL) is given to the patientor caregiver with instructions foruse. The dosing dispenserpackaged with the product should beremoved and discarded.
Prescribersshould avoid prescribing Tamiflu oral suspensionin "tsp." Ifa prescription is written in "tsp," the pharmacistshould convertthe volume to mL and ensure that an appropriatemeasuring device(e.g., an oral syringe calibrated in mL) isprovided. The dosingdispenser packaged with the product shouldbe removed and discarded.
