Drug Name Confusion: Serzone and Seroquel (Nov. 2002)

Drug names, particularly proprietary names, can look or sound alike. When one drug is mistaken for another, serious patient injuries can occur. Take the case of Serzone and Seroquel. Serzone, manufactured by Bristol-Myers Squibb, is approved to treat depression. Seroquel, made by Astra-Zeneca, is indicated for treating schizophrenia.

FDA has received several dozen reports of medication error where these two drugs were mixed up. Because of the similarity in the sound and look of the two names, pharmacists incorrectly interpreted written and verbal prescriptions. They also labeled and filled them incorrectly- Serzone for Seroquel, and vice versa. Patients who received the wrong drug suffered a variety of adverse events. Several required emergency room visits, and a few were hospitalized.

Besides the similar sounding names, other factors contributed to the confusion. For example, both Serzone and Seroquel are taken orally, both are prescribed BID, and there's some overlap in the available strengths of the two drugs. And because both names start with the same three letters, they are stored next to each other on pharmacy shelves, further increasing the risk of errors. Even the distinctive appearance of the Serzone and Seroquel tablets did not prevent the errors. In several incidents, the pharmacists placed Seroquel in a pharmacy bottle labeled Serzone, or vice versa, because they selected the wrong product from the pharmacy shelf.

Here are ways to help prevent these kinds of name confusion errors:

* Educate the staff about the medication errors caused by name confusion.
* Verify all orders between pharmacists and prescribers by spelling both the proprietary name and the generic name.
* Counsel patients in detail about their prescribed drug.
* When drug names can be easily confused, consider using computerized name alerts as well as reminders on drug containers and drug storage shelves.
* And separate look-alike or sound-alike drugs on the shelves

Additional Information:

Medication Errors.
http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/MedErrors/default.htm

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Serzone
• Seroquel
• FDA
• Mix-up
• Depression
• Schizophrenia
• Patient
• Safety
• Adverse
• Events

[Habasch78]

Seroquel, something what could kill faster than smoking.

The damage to the brain is not reversible, but if you are healthy enough, an other part of the brain could compensate this damage.

[bubba30017]

get it right u fukkin wankers