NR 566 Week 7 Pediatric Antibiotic Teaching Handout Example

Patient Teaching Handout: Amoxicillin Liquid for Your Child's Ear Infection, Written for the Parent Holding the Bottle and the Syringe

Student Name

College of Nursing, Chamberlain University

NR 566: Advanced Pharmacology for Care of the Family

Instructor Name

Month Day, Year

Patient Teaching Handout: Amoxicillin Liquid for Your Child's Ear Infection, Written for the Parent Holding the Bottle and the Syringe

Your Child's Medicine

Name: Amoxicillin liquid (400 mg in each 5 mL)

For: an ear infection in the right ear

Child's weight today: 16 kg

How Much Do I Give?

Give 9 mL each time.

Use the oral syringe we gave you. Do not use a kitchen spoon. Kitchen spoons hold different amounts.

Fill the syringe to the line marked 9. Squirt it slowly into the side of your child's cheek, a little at a time.

When Do I Give It?

Twice a day, about 12 hours apart. For example, at breakfast and at bedtime.

Give it for 10 days, even when your child feels better.

What If I Forget a Dose?

Give it when you remember. If the next dose is less than 6 hours away, wait and give the next dose at the usual time instead. Do not give two doses at once.

What If My Child Spits It Out or Throws Up?

If your child throws up within 15 minutes of a dose, give the dose again once. If it happens again, call us.

What Is Normal?

Some children have looser stools or a mild diaper rash. This is common and usually goes away after the medicine is finished. Give plenty of fluids.

Your child's ear may still hurt for a day or two. Fever should get better in 2 to 3 days.

When Should I Call?

Call the clinic if:

your child still has a fever after 3 days of medicine;

your child has a flat, red rash;

your child has watery stools more than 6 times a day;

your child will not drink.

When Is It an Emergency?

Get emergency help now (call 911) if you see:

hives with swelling of the lips, face or tongue;

trouble breathing or swallowing;

very sleepy and hard to wake.

How Do I Keep It?

Keep the bottle in the refrigerator. It tastes better cold. Shake the bottle well before each dose.

Throw away any medicine left after 10 days. Do not save it for another time or another child.

Can My Child Go to Daycare?

Your child can go back to daycare once the fever has been gone for 24 hours without fever medicine, and your child feels well enough to play. Ear infections are not spread from child to child, but the cold that came before it can be.

Will My Child Need More Visits?

Most children get better without a check-up. Come back if the ear pain or fever returns after the medicine is finished, or if you think your child is not hearing well.

Can Other Medicines Be Given?

Do not give cough or cold medicine to your child unless we say it is okay. Many of these are not safe for children under 6.

Tell any doctor or pharmacist that your child is taking amoxicillin.

Is My Child Allergic Now?

Loose stools or a mild diaper rash do not mean your child is allergic. Hives, swelling or trouble breathing could mean an allergy. If that happens, stop the medicine and get help right away. We will write it in your child's chart.

What About Pain and Fever?

You can give ibuprofen liquid (100 mg in each 5 mL): 8 mL every 6 to 8 hours if needed, with food or milk, while your child is drinking well.

Or acetaminophen liquid (160 mg in each 5 mL): 7.5 mL every 4 to 6 hours if needed. Do not give more than 5 doses in 24 hours.

Use the syringe that comes with each medicine.

Our Phone Numbers

Weekdays from 8 in the morning until 5: call the clinic number printed on your appointment card.

Nights and weekends: use the nurse line printed below it.

Please Tell Us Back

Before you leave, please show us: how much you will give, how you will measure it, and how many days you will give it.

Note for the Instructor (Not Part of the Handout)

This handout carries the Week 4 order unchanged: amoxicillin suspension 400 mg/5 mL, 9 mL (720 mg) every 12 hours for 10 days, for acute otitis media with severe symptoms in a 16 kg child (Lieberthal et al., 2013). The dose is written only in milliliters and paired with an oral syringe, because in a randomized experiment parents made fewer measuring mistakes when the label and the tool both used milliliters alone (Yin et al., 2014). Sentences are short and in second person, and medical terms are replaced with everyday words. The side effects are limited to the few a parent needs to recognize, split into what is common and what needs a call or an emergency visit. The teach-back section asks the parent to demonstrate the measured dose rather than describe it.

References

Lieberthal, A. S., Carroll, A. E., Chonmaitree, T., Ganiats, T. G., Hoberman, A., Jackson, M. A., Joffe, M. D., Miller, D. T., Rosenfeld, R. M., Sevilla, X. D., Schwartz, R. H., Thomas, P. A., & Tunkel, D. E. (2013). The diagnosis and management of acute otitis media. Pediatrics, 131(3), e964-e999. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2012-3488

Yin, H. S., Dreyer, B. P., Ugboaja, D. C., Sanchez, D. C., Paul, I. M., Moreira, H. A., Rodriguez, L., & Mendelsohn, A. L. (2014). Unit of measurement used and parent medication dosing errors. Pediatrics, 134(2), e354-e361. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2014-0395