The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 270 No 7243 p493
5 April 2003

An occasional feature, prepared in the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Professional Standards Directorate, to highlight problems and inquiries currently being handled

Law and Ethics Bulletin, 2001 to present

Care needed when dispensing chloramphenicol eye or ear drops

Pharmacists are reminded that since September 2000 chloramphenicol ear drops have been required to be stored in a refrigerator. Because chloramphenicol eye drops must also be refrigerated, the introduction of the ear drops requirement has increased the risk of picking errors.

Pharmacists are therefore advised to take extra care when handling chloramphenicol products and to store the eye and ear preparations separately within the refrigerator.

Extra care is required when putting an order away to ensure that the products are put in the correct place, and extra vigilance must be employed when dispensing to ensure the patient receives the correct preparation.

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