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Drug administration errors and their determinants in pediatric in-patients

Sonia Prot1, Jean Eudes Fontan, Corinne Alberti

  • 1Pharmacy Unit, Hôpital Robert Debré AP-HP, Paris, France.

International Journal for Quality in Health Care : Journal of the International Society for Quality in Health Care
|August 24, 2005
PubMed

Insights

Drug administration errors in pediatric patients are common, with timing and route being frequent issues. Identifying risk factors like specific drug types and staffing can help improve patient safety.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric patient safety
  • Medication administration
  • Healthcare quality improvement

Background:

  • Drug administration errors pose a significant risk to pediatric patients.
  • Understanding the frequency and types of these errors is crucial for developing effective interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantify the incidence and types of drug administration errors in pediatric inpatients.
  • To identify factors associated with these medication errors.

Main Methods:

  • A prospective, direct-observation study was conducted over one year in a pediatric teaching hospital.
  • Observers witnessed drug preparation and administration to identify discrepancies between orders and actual practice.

Main Results:

  • Over 1700 administrations revealed 538 errors, with timing (36%) and route (19%) being most common.
  • Factors increasing error risk included specific drug classes (cardiovascular, CNS), non-oral routes, pharmacy preparation, and non-permanent nursing staff. Intravenous drugs had fewer errors.

Conclusions:

  • Identified risk factors for drug administration errors provide a basis for targeted preventive strategies.
  • Improving medication safety in pediatric care requires addressing system-level and process-related issues.
Abstract

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