Medication Prescription Errors in the Intensive Care Unit: Prospective Observational Study

Area of Science:

• Medical Research
• Clinical Pharmacy
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Medication errors pose a significant global health challenge.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) aims to reduce medication-related harm by 50%.
• Prescription errors are a preventable component of medication errors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the incidence of medication prescription errors (MPEs).
• To assess the severity of MPEs in a medical intensive care unit (ICU).

Main Methods:

• Prospective observational study conducted in a tertiary care academic hospital's medical ICU.
• Daily review of treatment charts and comparison of prescriptions against a master chart.
• Severity classification using the National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention (NCCMERP) criteria.

Main Results:

• An overall incidence of 10.7% for MPEs was observed out of 24,572 medication orders.
• Severe MPEs, requiring intervention or causing patient harm, accounted for 3.52%.
• Higher incidence of severe MPEs was associated with deranged creatinine and INR levels.

Conclusions:

• The study identified a substantial incidence of MPEs in the medical ICU.
• A significant proportion of MPEs were severe, indicating potential patient harm.
• Findings underscore the importance of addressing prescription errors to enhance medication safety in ICUs.