Understanding Medication Errors in Intensive Care Settings and Operating Rooms-A Systematic Review

Background and Objectives: A medication error can occur at any stage of medication administration at the ward, from the moment the medication is prescribed through the preparation to the administration to the patient. The statistics indicate that the scale of the problem, which has a significant impact on the safety and health of patients, is still poorly known. The purpose of the systematic review was to synthesise the published research about the number of medication errors in operating room theatres and intensive care units. Materials and Methods: The literature review was conducted in the third quarter of 2023. The overview included papers found in Science Direct, EBSCO, PubMed, Ovid, Scopus, and original research papers published in English meeting the PICOS criteria. Original articles published between 2017 and 2023 that meet the inclusion criteria were included for further analysis. Results: The review included 13 articles and original studies, which met the PICOS-based criteria. The analyses confirmed that the operating theatre's medication error rate was 7.3% to 12%. In the case of intensive care units, the medication error rate was from 1.32 to 31.7%. Conclusions: Medication errors in the operating room and intensive care are high. However, the values presented herein do not differ from the general Medication Error Index for medical centres, as calculated by the World Health Organization.