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More than 30% of American adults, and about 12% of children utilize health care approaches that were developed outside of conventional medicine.
Though newer “smart” infusion pumps are increasingly becoming more sophisticated, they cannot prevent all programming and administration errors. Health care professionals that use smart infusion pumps must still practice the rights of medication administration and have other professionals double-check all high-risk infusions.
The most dangerous mercury compound, dimethyl mercury, is so toxic that even a few microliters spilled on the skin can cause death. Mercury has been shown to accumulate in higher amounts in the following types of fish than other types: swordfish, shark, mackerel, tilefish, crab, and tuna.
According to the FDA, adverse drug events harmed or killed approximately 1,200,000 people in the United States in the year 2015.
For pediatric patients, intravenous fluids are the most commonly cited products involved in medication errors that are reported to the USP.