The challenge of dosing medicine to children

by Tom Crann, Minnesota Public Radio

St. Paul, Minn. — The gear a doctor carries every day is likely to include a stethoscope, otoscope, pager and a pen. And now a Palm pilot, or something with a calculator.

A piece of gear like a calculator is essential for the calculations necessary for medicine dosage, especially when it comes to children.

There's news this week that one in 15 hospitalized children in the U.S. has gotten the wrong dosage of medicine or has had a reaction due to drug dosage.

Those findings, published in the current Journal of Pediatrics, only underscore how hard it is to calculate drug dosages for young people.

Dr. John Hallberg, "All Things Considered's" regular medical analyst, joined Tom Crann to talk the new findings.

Broadcast Dates

• All Things Considered, 04/10/2008, 6:24 p.m.