Medication errors with antituberculosis therapy in an inpatient, academic setting: forgotten but not gone

Tuberculosis, an infectious disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis, has significant public health implications. Despite the decreasing prevalence of tuberculosis cases and the availability of well-established treatment guidelines, errors with antituberculosis medications remain a concern as clinician experience with the infection has waned and the goal of eradicating tuberculosis has remained unfulfilled. Whereas inappropriate use of other anti-infective classes has been extensively studied, the evaluation of medication errors associated with antituberculosis therapy has been limited to a small number of studies conducted more than two decades ago. This study evaluated the prevalence of inpatient medication errors with antituberculosis therapy in patients with suspected or confirmed tuberculosis disease.

All admitted patients treated with at least one antituberculosis medication between July 2010 and June 2013 were evaluated for inclusion in the retrospective study. Multidrug antituberculosis regimens were reviewed for medication errors, which were categorized as dosing errors, drug interactions, omission of therapy and inappropriate continuation of therapy in the presence of drug toxicity. Appropriate management was determined in accordance with the national guidelines for the treatment of tuberculosis, as well as guidelines on the use of antiretroviral agents for patients with both human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and tuberculosis disease. The impact of infectious diseases and pulmonary consultation on the prevalence of medication errors was also examined.

More than half of all study patients (44/72, 61%) experienced at least one medication error associated with antituberculosis therapy. Dosing errors were the most common type of medication error identified and were predominantly related to weight-based dosing. Seven dosing errors were related to drug interactions between rifamycins and antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected patients. Medication error rates were similar between patients receiving consultation from infectious diseases and/or pulmonary specialties and those without consultation. The large majority of antituberculosis medication errors (56/66 errors, 85%) remained uncorrected during the patient's hospital admission.

Medication errors associated with antituberculosis therapy remain a common occurrence in the current clinical practice setting. Greater vigilance when prescribing medications for tuberculosis disease is needed.