Factors associated with medication errors in the pediatric emergency department

To describe the prevalence, type, and factors associated with medication errors in a pediatric emergency department.

This is a descriptive retrospective study about the treatments administered in the pediatric emergency department during a week in November 2007. We used the protocols and clinical guides at our center as pattern of reference. The errors were classified as follows: (1) prescription error: drug involved, indication, dose, and route of administration; (2) severity of the error; and (3) associated factors: triage category, age of the patient, training level of the physician, day of the week, and hour of the day.

In 377 of 1906 checked reports, some treatments were prescribed. A total of 92 errors (15%) were detected and all of them were prescription errors: 50 (8%) for inappropriate indication and 42 (7 %) for inadequate dose. Also, 87 were considered insignificant errors, 5 were moderate and none were severe. There was a higher rate of errors among residents with less experience. We did not find differences in the triage category neither in the age of the patient. In the weekends and holidays, we commit more errors compared in weekdays (28% vs 18 %, P=0.02). Between 24 and 8 hours, we registered more errors than between 8 and 16 and between 16 and 24 hours (32.3% vs 17.9% vs 21.2%; P=0.03).

Error rates in drugs administered exclusively in the emergency department are slightly higher than others evaluating house orders and emergency department treatments. The high assistance pressure during weekends and holidays and the tiredness during the night are risk factors of prescribing errors. Periodical evaluation of the prescriptions is necessary to develop the best strategies to apply every time.