Voluntary and anonymous reporting of medication errors in patients admitted to the Department of Pediatrics

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Healthcare
• Patient Safety
• Clinical Pharmacy

Background:

• Medication errors pose a significant risk in pediatric hospital settings.
• Understanding the frequency, causes, and outcomes of these errors is crucial for improving patient safety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the frequency, causes, and adverse events (AEs) of medication errors in hospitalized children.
• To identify specific types of medication errors and the clinical settings where they are most prevalent.

Main Methods:

• A prospective study was conducted in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Pediatric Clinic (PC), and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).
• Medication errors reported were analyzed for type, timing, location, and associated adverse events.
• Exclusion criteria included ambulatory pediatrics reports and incomplete data.

Main Results:

• Out of 989 reported errors, 401 (41%) were medication errors, with 353 (88%) reaching patients.
• Dosing errors constituted the most common type (33.4%), followed by prescription (45%) and administration errors (42%).
• The NICU reported the highest number of medication errors (50%) and adverse events (58%), with most AEs being mild or moderate.

Conclusions:

• The reported rate of medication errors in hospitalized children is 41%, with dosing errors being the most prevalent.
• Adverse events associated with medication errors are predominantly mild to moderate, with the NICU being a high-incidence area.
• Findings highlight the need for targeted interventions to reduce medication errors, particularly dosing errors, in pediatric care settings.