Stay alert for possible dosing errors with the oral suspension of Tamiflu, the brand-name for oseltamivir.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has received reports of prescription instructions not matching the dosing dispenser that is included with Tamiflu.
Although prescriptions for liquid medications are usually written in milliliters or teaspoons, Tamiflu is packaged with a dispenser dosed in milligrams.
Health care providers should be sure to write prescriptions in milligrams, not milliliters or teaspoons.
Pharmacists also should make sure that dosing instructions are in milligrams. If not, they should replace the dispenser with one, such as an oral syringe, that measures in milliliters.
The Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority also has received two reports of patients receiving overdoses of liquid Tamiflu.
Prescriptions were written for the commercially available 12 mg/mL concentration but, due to shortages, the pharmacy-compounded 15 mg/mL concentration was dispensed. Physicians and pharmacists should both be aware of this potential problem.
For dosing instructions, visit the FDA website.