Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 9, 2026
06:45
Rating L-DOPA-Induced Dyskinesias in the Unilaterally 6-OHDA-Lesioned Rat Model of Parkinson's Disease
Published on: October 4, 2021
Carbidopa/levodopa pharmacy errors in Parkinson's disease
Nasim R Khadem1, Melissa J Nirenberg
1Department of Neurology and Neuroscience, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York, USA.
Movement Disorders : Official Journal of the Movement Disorder Society
|September 7, 2010
Summary
Pharmacy errors involving carbidopa/levodopa are common in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients, causing adverse drug events and increased healthcare use. Education is needed to prevent these medication errors.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Pharmacology
- Patient Safety
Background:
- Outpatient pharmacy errors are frequent but understudied in Parkinson's disease (PD).
- Carbidopa/levodopa is a primary treatment for PD, making its accurate dispensing critical.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the occurrence and impact of carbidopa/levodopa pharmacy errors in PD outpatients.
- To identify common types of errors and their consequences.
Main Methods:
- Prospective study of carbidopa/levodopa dispensing in a PD outpatient cohort over one year.
- Error tracking, including type, frequency, and patient outcomes.
Main Results:
- Pharmacy errors occurred in 11% of PD patients (8/73) treated with carbidopa/levodopa.
- Most errors (87.5%) led to adverse drug events (ADEs), and 75% increased healthcare utilization.
- Common errors included wrong carbidopa/levodopa formulation (e.g., controlled-release vs. immediate-release) and incorrect dosage.
Conclusions:
- Carbidopa/levodopa outpatient pharmacy errors are a significant, preventable cause of morbidity in PD.
- Interventions targeting healthcare providers, patients, and pharmacy staff are necessary to reduce these errors and associated ADEs.
Related Concept Videos
01:24Parkinson's Disease: Treatment
Neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson's Disease (PD), involve the gradual and irreversible destruction of neurons in particular brain areas. These disorders exhibit standard features like proteinopathies, selective vulnerability of some neurons, and an interaction of intrinsic properties, genetics, and environmental influences in neural injury.
Parkinson's Disease is primarily a result of the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. The cornerstone of its...
Parkinson's Disease is primarily a result of the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. The cornerstone of its...
01:15Parkinson's Disease: Overview
Neurodegenerative disorders are progressive diseases that cause irreversible damage and loss to neurons in specific brain areas. Examples of these disorders include Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). These disorders share characteristics such as proteinopathies, selective neuronal vulnerability, and a complex interplay between genetic and environmental factors. The primary therapeutic goal for these conditions is to...
01:24Parkinson Disease ll: Pathophysiology
Parkinson disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder primarily affecting movement, with additional non-motor features. Its pathophysiology involves complex interactions among genetic susceptibility, environmental exposures, and cellular dysfunction, including dopaminergic neuron loss, protein aggregation, and mitochondrial impairment.Selective NeurodegenerationA key feature is the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta, leading to reduced...
01:24Parkinson Disease l: Introduction
Parkinson’s disease is a chronic, progressive neurodegenerative disorder that primarily affects movement. It is characterized by motor symptoms such as resting tremors, muscle rigidity, bradykinesia (slowness of movement), and postural instability. Patients may notice hand tremors at rest, stiffness during movement, or a shuffling gait. In addition to motor features, non-motor symptoms include sleep disturbances, mood and behavioral changes, constipation, and cognitive impairment, all of which...
01:08Effect of Hepatic Disease on Pharmacokinetics: Dose Adjustments Due to Hepatic Impairment
Hepatic impairment, characterized by decreased liver function, does not uniformly mandate adjustments in drug dosage. Whether dosage modifications are necessary depends on various factors related to the drug's metabolism and elimination pathways. If a drug is primarily excreted via the kidneys and bypasses significant hepatic processing, if it undergoes minimal metabolic transformation in the liver, or if it is volatile and primarily expelled through the lungs, dose adjustments may not be...
01:15Drug Dosing: Geriatric Patients
Elderly individuals encompass a diverse population with varying degrees of age-related physiological changes. Defining the elderly presents challenges, as the geriatric population is often arbitrarily categorized as individuals older than 65. However, many individuals in this group lead active and healthy lives, with an increasing number surpassing 85 years and falling into the older elderly category. Physiological changes associated with aging impact performance capacity and homeostatic...