[Error detection in the administration of antiretroviral therapy to out-patients]

To describe medication errors in the administration of antiretroviral drugs in HIV patients involved in a pharmaceutical care program.

A retrospective review has been carried out on pharmaceutical care records for HIV patients who picked up medication at the Hospital Pharmacy Service between July 1999 and April 2002. Medication errors, median time to error detection and percentage of patients with written information supplied were measured. Medication errors were classified according to the terminology and the taxonomy of the Spanish Ruiz-Jarabo Group 2002.

513 patients' pharmaceutical care records were analysed (68% of total HIV outpatients). Forty medication errors were recorded (0.27 errors/100 patients dispensed per month). The median time to error detection was 35.5 days. Written information was supplied in 63% of the cases. Errors reached patients but did not cause any damage in most cases. Incorrect doses was the most frequent type of error detected, followed by food and drug interaction.

Pharmaceutical care programs allow us to detect drug administration errors. The frequency of monitoring visits may influence time to error detection.