HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Two pediatric patients in Pennsylvania hospitals have received overdoses of the drug Tamiflu, which is used to treat flu symptoms.

The overdoses were the result of unawareness among staff as to the concentration of the drug given in an alternative liquid form, state health officials said.

Both children were unharmed as a result of the errors, but details of the near misses have been published in a supplementary Pennsylvania Patient Safety Advisory to raise awareness of the issue.

For patients who have trouble swallowing Tamiflu capsules, usually elderly and children, a liquid form of the drug is available. For facilities that have a shortage of Tamiflu in liquid form, the Food and Drug Administration approved directions listed in the product labeling for using the powder in the Tamiflu capsule to make a liquid form, which is a different concentration.

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However, reports show staff were unaware of the differences in the concentrations of the two products, health officials said.

As of Oct. 20, the PPSA received two reports describing the dosage errors related to the varying Tamiflu concentrations.

In each case, physicians prescribed 12 mg of the product to the patient in liquid form.

However, due to shortages of the liquid form, which is available in a 12 mg/mL concentration, pharmacists compounded and dispensed a liquid form made from the powder of available capsules as a 15 mg/mL concentration, which was administered without adjusting the dose.

"We believe hospital staff -- prescribers, nurses, and pharmacists -- may be unaware of the potential for dosage errors due to the shortage of the drug in liquid form," Mike Doering, executive director of the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority said. "Doctors who are prescribing the Tamiflu in a liquid are unaware that the manufacturer produced liquid form of the product is not available."

Health officials did not say where in Pennsylvania the overdoses took place.