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Updated: Jul 12, 2025
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Intravenous Injections in Neonatal Mice
Published on: November 11, 2014
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Intravenous Medication Administration Safety with Smart Infusion Pumps in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: An
Kumiko O Schnock1,2, Sara E Rostas3, Catherine S Yoon4
1Division of General Internal Medicine and Primary Care, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 1620 Tremont Street, OBC-3, Boston, MA, 02120-1613, USA. kschnock@bwh.harvard.edu.
Drug Safety
|October 27, 2023
Summary
Smart infusion pumps in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) show promise for medication safety. Most errors stemmed from non-compliance, highlighting the need for policy changes and better adherence to smart pump technology.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Medication Safety
- Health Informatics
- Patient Safety
Background:
- Neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) care for vulnerable infants, where medication errors pose significant risks.
- Smart infusion pumps are used to enhance medication administration safety, but their impact in NICUs remains uncertain.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the incidence and types of intravenous (IV) medication administration errors in a NICU setting.
- To evaluate the role of smart infusion pump technology in medication safety within the NICU.
Main Methods:
- An observational, prospective point-prevalence study was conducted over 48 days within a 3-month period in 2019.
- Intravenous medication administrations were observed in 441 patients at an academic medical center in the USA.
Main Results:
- A total of 905 IV medication administrations were observed, with 130 errors (14.4 per 100 administrations).
- The most common errors included incorrect drug library entries (5.3 per 100), unauthorized medications (0.7 per 100), and wrong doses (0.6 per 100).
- 68 errors (7.5 per 100) were classified as unlikely to cause harm, and no patient harm was identified.
Conclusions:
- Medication errors unique to NICU populations were identified, but no patient harm occurred.
- Non-compliance with smart pump technology was the primary cause of errors.
- Enhancing NICU medication safety requires policy changes and improved adherence to smart pump utilization.
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