Physiological serum, disinfectant, ophthalmic eye drops: the single doses follow and resemble each other. The Medicines Safety Agency warns of the risks of confusion.
“One pod can hide another! These small transparent flexible plastic containers are subject to a warning from the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM). In 2013, 2,248 adverse reactions related to medication error were reported. They mainly concerned children. Nothing surprising about that: apart from the labeling, nothing makes it possible to distinguish a single dose of physiological serum from a single dose of hydrogen peroxide.
Precise precautions for use
“Among the error reports, more than half resulted in the occurrence of adverse effects, including 1 / 5th of adverse effects considered serious”, underlines the ANSM in an information point. These reports have been exploding since 2005, which prompted the health agency to recall the precautionary rules. The information on the single-dose labels must be systematically checked, and they must be kept in their original box and out of the reach of children. This avoids, on the one hand, confusion between the different specialties, on the other hand that children ingest these products.
The ANSM also recommends not to store the pods intended for washing the nose or eyes and those for disinfecting in the same place. Finally, after each use, the single doses should be discarded, even if they are still half full.
Source : ANSM
Differentiating packaging: an avenue under study
Parents are the first recipients of this information point. Indeed, most medication errors occur at home, on pediatric patients (infants and children). The confusion of the doses is not without consequence: if the physiological serum does not present a great risk to health if it is ingested, this is not the case for drugs such as hydrogen peroxide, ophthalmic eye drops, soap or else chlorhexidine (biocide). However, these are the main substances concerned by reports to the ANSM.
Source : ANSM
In addition to the warning intended for children, the ANSM announces reflections on a better distinction between the different specialties in a risk reduction approach. They would consist of modifications to the labeling, the form of the packaging (opacity, color), and even the possibility of coloring certain solutions.
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