BMJ 1995;310:1154 (6 May)

Editorials

Calculating drug doses

Doctors need to be drilled to calculate doses accurately in emergencies

About 70-80% of undergraduates entering medical training in Britain have passed mathematics at A level, and virtually all will have passed the subject at O level. Yet, as Rolfe and Harper show, among a representative sample of 150 doctors asked to perform simple calculations converting drug doses from a percentage or dilution to mass per volume the success rate was as low as 16% (p 1173).1 The results showed that senior doctors (consultants and senior registrars) were better at calculating the correct answer, and anaesthetists were notably better. While these data seem to suggest a hierarchy in numerical skill among doctors, in terms of both age and specialty, clearly there are other more likely reasons.

The five questions used in the survey concerned tasks regularly performed by anaesthetists, most of whom would have known the answers even if unable . . . [Full text of this article]


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This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Walton, R., Dovey, S., Harvey, E., Freemantle, N. (1999). Computer support for determining drug dose: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ 318: 984-990 [Abstract] [Full text]  
  • Lesar, T. S. (1998). Errors in the Use of Medication Dosage Equations. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 152: 340-344 [Abstract] [Full text]  
  • Nunn, D. S (1995). Calculating drug doses. BMJ 311: 512-512 [Full text]  
  • Cohen, A. M (1995). Teaching of undergraduates must be improved. BMJ 311: 512a-512 [Full text]  
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