What it means
If the decimal point is missed, "1.0 mg" is read as "10 mg," a tenfold overdose. The Joint Commission's "Do Not Use" list bans trailing zeros in medication orders and labels: write 1 mg. They are allowed only where a lab result or measurement needs to show its precision, never in a dose. Its partner rule is always to write a leading zeroLEED-ing ZEER-ohA zero written before the decimal point of a number less than one, as in 0.5 mg.Full entry .
For the nurse
Never write 5.0 mg; write 5 mg. Clarify any order with a trailing zero before giving the drug.
Remember it
Always lead with zero; never trail with zero.
Easy to confuse with
leading zero
A zero written before the decimal point of a number less than one, as in 0.5 mg.
Related terms
U
An abbreviation for "unit" that must not be used in medication orders; write "unit" in full.
leading zero
A zero written before the decimal point of a number less than one, as in 0.5 mg.