Integrated Pharmacy Research and Practice (Jan 2017)
Prevalence of intravenous medication administration errors: a cross-sectional study
Abstract
Tezeta Fekadu,1 Mebrahtu Teweldemedhin,2 Eyerusalem Esrael,1 Solomon Weldegebreal Asgedom1 1School of Pharmacy, Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences, Mekelle University, Mekelle, 2Unit of Biomedical Science, School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences and Referral Hospital, Aksum University, Aksum, Ethiopia Background: Intravenous medication administration errors (MAEs) may be accompanied by avoidable undesirable effects, which might result in clinical complications.Objective: The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of MAEs and to identify the factors associated with such errors.Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted from March to April 2015. Data were collected by direct observation using a pretested data collection tool. Simple random sampling was used, and bivariate logistic regression model was used to identify the factors associated with MAEs. P value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: A total of 134 patients were found to be eligible for the study. More than half of the study participants were males (76 [56.7%]). The rate of MAE was 46.1%, with the missed dose (n=162, 95.8%) being reported as the most common error. The age groups of 60–79 years (adjusted odds ratio = 2.166, confidence interval = 1.532–8.799) and 80–101 years (adjusted odds ratio = 1.52, confidence interval = 1.198–5.584) were the determinants of MAEs.Conclusion: A high prevalence of MAEs was found. Enhancing the knowledge and practical skills of clinical nurses might minimize such errors. Keywords: prevalence, medication, administration, error
