Beckett V. et al. Archives of Diseases in Childhood, 2012; 97: 838-841
Parents administer oral medications with various measuring devices including metal teaspoons, calibrated spoons and oral syringes. We aimed to determine which was the most accurate. The calibrated spoon was the most accurate producing a mean volume of 5 ml, while the oral syringe had the smallest variance. The increased variability of calibrated or metal spoons may result in under or overdosing especially when administering drugs with a narrow therapeutic window. Health care professionals must make a case-by-case decision regarding which device is preferable depending on the medication in question. Parental education could improve measuring accuracy.
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