Oral liquid medicines have historically been considered the most appropriate formulation to prescribe for children[1]. The reasons for this include the perceived inability of children to swallow solid dosage forms, the need for formulations that allow accurate administration of bespoke doses based on age and weight, and the ability to add excipients to improve palatability[1,2]. However, prescribing, dispensing and administering oral liquids to children is not without risk, with one surveillance study of paediatric medication errors indicating that oral liquid medicines were implicated in more than half of the errors reported[3].
