Division of pills changes recommended dose

• April 19, 2024

Medical specialists have warned about the common practice of split the pills , after a study found that almost a third of the fragments of the division differ by 15% or more from the recommended dose .

Small differences produced by the division of pills, could cause critical problems in people with heart disease, blood clots and seizures, this suggests a new Belgian study.

It is common to split in two a pill that we will swallow, either for facilitate your swallowing or to save costs, but this practice is potentially dangerous and undue, especially when certain drugs have a thin line between the recommended dose and one toxic dose , indicates the study published by Journal of Advanced Nursing .

Five volunteers divided 8 pills into various sizes using 3 common tools, a knife cooking, some scissors and a special device for cutting pills. 14% of the divided pills They had different doses of the initial up to 25% or more, published the portal Health Day

Even the most accurate method (the specialized object to divide pills) caused 15 to 25% of mistakes in the margin in 13% of cases. Each pill was weighed after being split to identify how much was lost in the division.

"However, it could have consequences when the differences are greater than 25% or more ... a small difference in dose It can make an important difference in the effect. Just to be sure, we recommend taking care in the division of pills . It is not as innocent as it seems, "said the study leader, Charlotte Verrue, of the Ghent University of Belgium.

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