Page 36 - WVPC 2017 Annual Report Final
P. 36
Therapeutic Errors
A therapeutic error occurs when a person is accidentally given/ or takes the wrong medication , the
wrong dose of medication, or the dose was given too soon following another dose.
Therapeutic Error Trends 0 to 14 Years of Age
The most common thera-
peutic errors in infants in-
volve anti-gas, anti-colic,
and anti-reflux medications.
In school age children,
medications for Attention
Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder (ADHD) result in
the majority of errors.
Therapeutic Error Trends 15 to 99 Years
of Age
Therapeutic errors in people
older than 60 years of age are
likely higher than reported to
the WVPC. Many people over
60 do not realize that poison
centers can assist people who
need assistance following a
therapeutic error.
15-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 80-89 90-99
YEARS YEARS YEARS YEARS YEARS YEARS YEARS YEARS YEARS
West Virginia Poison Center Annual Report 2017 Page 35
