Medication errors and therapy problems may drive antimicrobial resistance in Egypt

Area of Science:

• Pharmacovigilance
• Infectious Disease Management
• Public Health Policy

Background:

• Antimicrobial resistance poses a significant challenge in Egypt.
• Medication errors and drug therapy problems involving antimicrobials are key contributors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze antimicrobial-related drug therapy and management errors.
• To identify patterns for corrective actions and policy development.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 57,592 antimicrobial-related errors reported to the Egyptian National Office for Handling and Reduction of Medication Errors (2020-2024).
• Descriptive statistics used, categorized by WHO access, watch, and reserve classification.
• Focus on error types, implicated agents, and prescription-related issues.

Main Results:

• Prescription errors (96.7%) were the most common, including dosing (43.1%) and indication (33.8%).
• Ampicillin/sulbactam, levofloxacin, ceftriaxone, and cefotaxime were frequently implicated agents.
• Watch group antibiotics constituted 65.4% of errors, followed by access (27.8%) and reserve (5.7%).

Conclusions:

• Findings provide essential baseline data for enhancing antimicrobial stewardship in Egypt.
• Need for policies to minimize antimicrobial errors, promote rational use, and strengthen surveillance.
• Mitigating inappropriate prescriptions of watch group antibiotics is critical.