Tallman lettering
From Rx-wiki
Tallman lettering (or Tall Man lettering) is the practice of writing part of a drug's name in upper case letters to help distinguish sound-alike, look-alike drugs from one another in order to avoid medication errors. Several studies have shown that highlighting sections of drug names using tallman letters can help distinguish similar drug names, making them less prone to mix-ups. ISMP, FDA, The Joint Commission, and other safety-conscious organizations have promoted the use of tallman letters as one means of reducing confusion between similar drug names.
Below are two lists with recommendations for the use of tallman lettering. The first list is of FDA-approved established drug names with recommended tallman letters, which were first identified during the FDA Name Differentiation Project. The second list is of additional drug names with recommendations from ISMP regarding the use and placement of tallman letters.
Contents
FDA's list
The following is a Food and Drug Administration approved list of generic drug names with tallman letters. The medications have been grouped to emphasize which medications are commonly mistaken by having sound sound-alike, look-alike names.
Established Name | Recommended Name |
acetohexamide acetazolamide |
acetaHEXAMIDE acetaZOLAMIDE |
bupropion buspirone |
buPROPion busPIRone |
chlorpromazine chlorpropamide |
chlorproMAZINE chlorproPAMIDE |
clomiphene clomipramine |
clomiPHENE clomiPRAMINE |
cyclosporine cycloserine |
cycloSPORINE cycloSERINE |
daunorubicin doxorubicin |
DAUNOrubicin DOXOrubicin |
dimenhydrinate diphenhydramine |
dimenhyDRINATE diphenhydrAMINE |
dobutamine dopamine |
DOBUTamine DOPamine |
glipizide glyburide |
glipiZIDE glyBURIDE |
hydralazine hydromorphone hydroxyzine |
hydrALAZINE HYDROmorphone hydrOXYzine |
medroxyprogesterone methylprednisolone methyltestosterone mitoxantrone |
medroxyPROGESTERone methylPREDNISolone methylTESTOSTERone mitoXANTRONE |
nicardipine nifedipine |
niCARdipine NIFEdipine |
prednisone prednisolone |
predniSONE prednisoLONE |
risperidone ropinirole |
risperiDONE rOPINIRole |
sulfadiazine sulfisoxazole |
sulfADIAZINE sulfiSOXAZOLE |
tolazamide tolbutamide |
TOLAZamide TOLBUTamide |
vinblastine vincristine |
vinBLAStine vinCRIStine |
ISMP's list
The following is an Institute for Safe Medication Practices recommended list of generic drug names with tallman letters. The medications have been grouped to emphasize which medications are commonly mistaken by having sound sound-alike, look-alike names.
Established Name | Recommended Name |
alprazolam lorazepam |
ALPRAZolam LORazepam |
amiloride amlodipine |
aMILoride amLODIPine |
See also
MedWatch
High-alert medications
Five rights
References
- ISMP, FDA and ISMP Lists of Look-Alike Drug Names with Recommended Tall Man Letters, http://ismp.org/Tools/tallmanletters.pdf
- FDA, Name Differentiation Project, http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/MedicationErrors/ucm164587.htm
- Wikipedia, Tall man lettering, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tall_Man_lettering