PSA Medication Safety 5

Question 1

Which medication formulation must NOT be crushed before administration via a nasogastric tube?

Accepted Answer

Enteric-coated aspirin 75 mg tablet

Answer

Crushing enteric-coated aspirin destroys the protective coating designed to prevent gastric irritation, releasing the drug in the stomach and increasing the risk of ulceration.

Question 2

Which pair represents a classic and clinically dangerous look-alike/sound-alike (LASA) medication risk?

Accepted Answer

Metformin and methotrexate

Answer

Metformin (antidiabetic) and methotrexate (immunosuppressant/chemotherapy) are a well-documented LASA pair; errors have caused fatal methotrexate toxicity in diabetic patients.

Question 3

Which prescription abbreviation is considered most dangerous and should always be written in full to prevent a medication error?

Accepted Answer

'U' for units, which can be misread as a zero causing a tenfold overdose

Answer

Writing 'U' for units is dangerous because it can be misread as '0', turning '10U of insulin' into '100 units' — a potentially fatal tenfold overdose.

Question 4

A child weighs 25 kg. The prescribed dose of trimethoprim is 4 mg/kg twice daily. What is the correct dose for each administration?

Accepted Answer

100 mg

Answer

4 mg/kg × 25 kg = 100 mg per dose; confirming weight-based calculations carefully prevents under- or overdosing in pediatric patients.

Question 5

A patient with eGFR of 20 mL/min/1.73m² requires anticoagulation. Which drug does NOT require renal dose adjustment?

Accepted Answer

Warfarin (vitamin K antagonist)

Answer

Warfarin is hepatically metabolized via CYP2C9 and does not require renal dose adjustment, unlike DOACs and LMWH which undergo significant renal clearance.

(PSA) Prescribing Safety Assessment Practice Test

(PSA) Prescribing Safety Assessment Practice Test

PSA Medication Safety 5