What should be avoided when rounding medication doses?

When rounding medication doses, it is crucial to avoid resulting in a dose that is 10% greater than the prescribed amount. This principle is grounded in medication safety and accuracy. A 10% increase in dosage can lead to potential overdose, increased side effects, and adverse reactions, which can significantly affect patient safety.

In clinical practice, maintaining precise dosing is essential for effective treatment while minimizing the risk of harm to the patient. Accurate dosing is particularly important for medications that have a narrow therapeutic index, where small changes in the dose can lead to significant differences in therapeutic effects or toxicities.

Rounding to achieve a safer dose—even if it's slightly lower—is often acceptable within certain parameters, while a 10% increase may be dangerous and should be avoided altogether. Additionally, total doses over 100mg may have specific guidelines, but they do not specifically address the inherent risk associated with excessive rounding. Rounding to the nearest whole number may sometimes lead to a small increase in dosage, but the focus should always be on avoiding a substantial increase like 10%.