A South Australian toddler was airlifted to hospital in Adelaide after a mistake on a pharmacy label caused his mother to give him 10 times his prescribed dose of epilepsy medication.
Donald Mudge’s mother Jessica Smith told 7NEWS it was “human error” that led to the mix-up.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Dosage mix up sends toddler to hospital.
Watch the latest news and stream for free on 7plus >>
Smith gave her one-and-a-half-year-old son his dosage, according to package directions, on October 28.
“Unfortunately, human error meant that 10ml were put on (the label) instead of 10mg or 1ml,” Smith said.
“Within half an hour of his first dosage, he was asleep.”
Boy’s ‘old-fashioned’ habit leads to condition that ‘didn’t go away’
Urgent investigation amid illness ‘cluster’ in transplant patients at major hospital
Smith became extremely concerned by Monday afternoon and spoke to Donald’s neurologist, seeking guidance.
This was when the mistake in directions was revealed.
“She’s told me that it was incorrect and to get him to emergency,” Smith said.
Donald Mudge was airlifted to hospital after a mistake on a pharmacy label caused his mother Jessica Smith to give him 10 times his prescribed dose of epilepsy medication. Credit: Supplied
While Donald has recovered and is “fantastic now, thankfully”, Smith said the episode was “very concerning”.
“He lost mobility, he slept a lot,” she said.
“They had trouble getting an IV in, so his veins were shutting down.
“It took 45 minutes and three different doctors to try and get an IV line into him on Monday evening, for him to be flown to Adelaide.”
While Donald has recovered, his mum said the episode was concerning and action needs to be taken to prevent further incidents. Credit: Supplied
Smith said action needed to be taken to prevent similar mistakes in the future.
“The pharmacy board needs to step in and make sure that this can never happen again,” she said.
“It needs to be a written rule that every label is checked by more than one set of eyes.
“Because human error can occur, and that’s OK, but two sets of eyes should at least try and stop that from happening.”
If you’d like to view this content, please adjust your Cookie Settings.
To find out more about how we use cookies, please see our Cookie Guide.