Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Study: Pill-Splitting Can Be Dangerous

(HealthScout) UPDATED 2011-01-13
Scientists say the common practice of splitting pills in an effort to save money or make medications easier to swallow leads to inaccurate dosing and is potentially dangerous. In a new study, Belgian researchers found that almost one-third of pill fragments that had been split with either a kitchen knife, a pair of scissors, or a pill-splitting device were off in their dosage by 15 percent or more. An additional 14 percent of these split tablets differed from their recommended doses by 25 percent or more. The scientists say deviations in medication dosages can cause the drugs to have different and sometimes dangerous effects, including irregular heartbeat, blood clots, and seizures.  Read full story >
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