Watch out for drug names that look, sound alike

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> Watch out for drug names that look, sound alike

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> Sep 1, 1:53 PM (ET)

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> By LAURAN NEERGAARD

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> WASHINGTON (AP) - Take the generic drug clonidine for high blood pressure?

> Double-check that you didn't leave the drugstore with Klonopin for seizures,

> or the gout medicine colchicine.

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> Mixing up drug names because they look or sound alike - like this trio - is

> among the most common types of medical mistakes, and it can be deadly. Now

> new efforts are aiming to stem the confusion, and make patients more aware of

> the risk.

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> Nearly 1,500 commonly used drugs have names so similar to at least one other

> medication that they've already caused mix-ups, says a major study by the

> U.S. Pharmacopeia, which helps set drug standards and promote patient safety.

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> Last week the influential group opened a Web-based tool to let consumers and

> doctors easily check if they're using or prescribing any of these

> error-prone drugs, and what they might confuse it with. Try to spell or

pronounce a few

> on the site - - and it's easy to see how mistakes can happen. Did you mean

> the painkiller Celebrex or the antidepressant Celexa?http://www.usp.org

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