Archived - Page 3: Health Product InfoWatch - January 2017
New health product safety information
The following topics have been selected to raise awareness and, in some cases, to stimulate reporting of similar adverse reactions.
Medication error alert
Methotrexate: Serious dosing errors
Methotrexate is a folate antagonist used in the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis.Footnote 1 As a high-alert medication, methotrexate carries an increased risk of significant, even fatal, consequences when it is used in error.Footnote 2
Health Canada is aware of recent serious errors reported in the media in which patients received daily instead of weekly doses of oral methotrexate. Patient safety organizations and regulators have issued a number of notices reporting similar errors in the past.Footnote 3,Footnote 4,Footnote 5
Health Canada’s recently published Good Label and Package Practices Guide for Prescription Drugs includes direction to manufacturers regarding the inclusion of prominent warning statements on labels. The guide suggests that labels for oral methotrexate should state “check dose and frequency - methotrexate is usually taken once a week.” Health Canada will continue to investigate whether additional label changes could help to mitigate the potential for error.
Healthcare professionals are reminded that the risks associated with methotrexate dosing errors require vigilance at all stages of the medication use process. The importance of taking the medication as prescribed should be clearly communicated to patients and caregivers.