Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Do You Always Check the Diagnosis for Look or Sound Alike Medications?
The Institute for Safe Therapy Practices (ISMP) had several reports of mix-ups in which the antidiabetic semantic role AMARYL (glimepiride) had been dispensed to geriatric patients instead of the Alzheimer’s therapy REMINYL (galantamine).
Each drug is available in a 4 mg dosage, although other cake strengths are also available for each drug.
In one case, a 78-year-old stratum with a past of Alzheimer’s disease was admitted to the health facility with hypoglycemia (blood glucose on entrance money 27 mg/dL).
A practice of the medications she was taking at home revealed that her pharmacist dispensed Amaryl 4 mg, which she took BID instead of Reminyl 4 mg BID.
In another case, an 89-year-old beast received Amaryl instead of Reminyl for 3 days, eventually requiring condition for idiom of severe hypoglycemia.
A gear mechanism affected role received Amaryl instead of Reminyl while in the medical institution, leadership to severe hypoglycemia.
All patients recovered with intervention.
These events have been linked to poor prescriber writing and sound-alike, look-alike names.
This is a part of article Do You Always Check the Diagnosis for Look or Sound Alike Medications? Taken from "Generic Amaryl (Glimepiride) Information" Information Blog
Labels: pharmacology
