Cut to the Chase About Whether It’s Okay to Cut Patches

Dangerous errors with transdermal patches are still occurring...often due to mistakenly cutting them.

Recently, a child’s clonidine patch was accidentally cut in half...to provide a lower dose. The child experienced toxicity symptoms...a slow heartbeat, drowsiness, and unresponsiveness...but fortunately recovered.

Know which patches can and canNOT be cut. Most patches should NEVER be cut...since they release a constant amount of drug over time. Cutting may cause the drug to release too fast...which could lead to an overdose.