Medication Errors in Pediatrics
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Abstract
Medication error (ME) is defined as “any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medication is in the control of health care professionals or patients. Such events may be related to professional practice and all treatment procedures”. It has been reported that the ME rate for pediatrics tends to be higher than for adults. Most MEs occur at the prescription step and typically involve wrong dosage and omission, which were found to be the most common errors in this step. Minerals and electrolytes are associated with the most frequent errors, while injection has the highest error rate in terms of method of administration. Most MEs were in category B for severity. The most significant source of MEs was due to health professionals. The most effective solutions for preventing MEs involve having a 24-hour, ward-based clinical pharmacist and improving communication among health professionals. However, MEs may not be able to be prevented by any single intervention; a combination of several interventions, including technology, can more effectively prevent MEs.
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References
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