The Rate of Physicochemical Incompatibilities, Administration Errors. Factors Correlating with Nurses' Errors.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Quality and Safety
• Nursing Practice
• Clinical Pharmacy

Background:

• Medication errors, particularly with intravenous (IV) medications, are a significant concern in hospitals due to complex preparation and administration processes.
• IV medications require meticulous attention throughout preparation, administration, and monitoring to ensure patient safety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the rate of errors in the preparation and administration of IV medications.
• To investigate the correlation between nurse demographics and the incidence of these medication errors.

Main Methods:

• A trained pharmacist monitored 100 patients receiving IV medications, observing nurses during preparation and administration.
• Data on 454 IV medications were collected using a checklist, comparing practices against established guidelines.
• Demographic data of the involved nurses were also collected.

Main Results:

• Inappropriate administration constituted a substantial proportion of errors (35.3%).
• No life-threatening drug interactions were observed.
• Nurse employment status showed a direct correlation with medication errors; temporary contract nurses had significantly higher administration errors (p < 0.0001).

Conclusions:

• Increased vigilance, particularly by pharmacists, is crucial to prevent negative consequences from IV medication administration errors.
• Optimizing nurses' working conditions may play a vital role in reducing medication errors.