Health Canada issues warning over Tamiflu dosage
September 28, 2009
THE CANADIAN PRESS
OTTAWA – Health Canada said Saturday it is aware of an alert issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on dosing errors associated with the liquid form of Tamiflu.
The FDA said Friday confusing prescriptions can lead to dangerous over- or under-dosing of the drug, used in the treatment of influenza.
It said that there have been cases where the label instructions for the product provided information in millilitres or teaspoons, while the measuring device provided with the prescription was in milligrams.
This led to patient or caregiver confusion and dosing errors.
Health Canada said if a physician's instructions specify dosages in millilitres or teaspoons, then the dropper in the Tamiflu package should be replaced, if possible, with one calibrated in millilitres or teaspoons.
It added that as of Sept. 18, there had been no reports in Canada suggesting dosing error associated with the use of Tamiflu oral suspension.
More on our swine flu page.
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