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Author: Admin | 2025-04-28
Original article by Kathleen Doheny on Medscape Medical News / Drug Name Confusion: More Than 80 New Drug Pairs Added to the List - Medscape - Aug 08, 2023 and edited by pharmanaming.comDrug names can look or sound like other drug names, which leads to confusion and potentially harmful medication errors. While non proprietary drug names hardly lead to confusion as the WHO approval process is very strict, brand (proprietary) names can lead to confusion. Examples of the numerous drug names that have been confused because they look and/or sound similar include Celebrex® (celecoxib), Cerebyx® (fosphenytoin), and Celexa® (citalopram). Factors such as poor handwriting and clinical similarity may exacerbate the problem. This problem can be alleviated through actions by regulatory agencies, pharmaceutical manufacturers, healthcare professionals, and patients. To address the problem, significant changes in the pharmaceutical regulatory process have occurred in the US and Europe.Zolpidem (Ambien) is a well-known sedative for sleep. Letairis (Ambrisentan) is a vasodilator for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension. Citalopram (Celexa) is an antidepressant; escitalopram (Lexapro) is prescribed for anxiety and depression.Those are just four of the more than 80 pairs of drug names that the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) recently added to its list of confusing drug names. The aim is to increase awareness about the potential for a serious medication mistake when the wrong drug is given because of drug names that look and sound similar.This prescription for clonazepam was misinterpreted and dispensed as lorazepam.Awareness of these drug names, however, is
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