Taxoid antineoplastics, TAXOL® and TAXOTERE®, are similar brand names which are easy to confuse, when physicians prescribe them. This problem has become to be serious since 1999 when the applicable diseases and the daily doses for both drugs overlapped each other. We surveyed their applications and daily dose from 1998-2000 to assess the risk of medical errors in managing both drugs. A difference was observed in the daily doses between TAXOL® and TAXOTERE® in 1998. Their daily doses, however, overlapped at 20-80 mg/m2 in 2000, especially in patients with breast cancer. This might be one reason for current medical errors due to similar daily doses in addition to the similar brand name. We have started to use individual sheets to manage both taxoid antineoplastics since August 2000 to avoid medical errors. Our approach for managing taxoid antineoplastics was found to be useful for reducing the risk of medical errors owing to the similar brand name of these two drugs.
