Warning issued over Tamiflu dosage information
Last Updated: Friday, September 25, 2009 | 11:39 PM ET
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Health Canada said Friday it is aware of a warning sounded over potentially confusing dosage directions on the liquid form of the antiviral drug Tamiflu.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued the warning today after physicians pointed out the problem earlier this week in a letter published in the online version of the New England Journal of Medicine.
The FDA said confusion arose because there have been cases where the label instructions for liquid Tamiflu gave dosage information in millilitres or teaspoons, while the measuring device provided with the prescription was in milligrams.
Health Canada said that if a physician's instructions specify dosages in in millilitres or teaspoons, then the measuring device included in the Tamiflu package should be replaced, if possible, with one calibrated in millilitres or teaspoons.
A pharmacist may also be able to convert the instructions back into milligrams.
Health Canada said that as of Sept. 18, there had been no reports in this country suggesting dosing error associated with the use of liquid Tamiflu.
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