Computerized Pharmaceutical Algorithm Reduces Medication Administration Errors During Simulated Resuscitations

2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 274-281
Author(s):  
Girish G. Deshpande ◽  
Adalberto Torres ◽  
David L. Buchanan ◽  
Susan C. Shane Gray ◽  
Suzanne C. Brown ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE Medication errors involving intravenous medications continue to be a significant problem, particularly in the pediatric population due to the high rate of point-of-care and weight-adjusted dosing. The pharmaceutical algorithm computerized calculator (pac2) assists in converting physician medication orders to correct volumes and rates of administration for intravenous medications. This study was designed to assess the efficacy of the pac2 in simulated clinical scenarios of point-of-care dosing. Methods The study design was a within-subject controlled study in which 33 nurses from pediatrics, pediatric critical care, or critical care (mean nursing experience of 10.9 years) carried out various point-of-care medication-dosing scenarios with and without the aid of the pac2. RESULTS Use of the pac2 resulted in a significantly higher percentage (mean [95% CI]) of medication volumes calculated and drawn accurately (91% [87–95%] versus 61% [52–70%], p<0.0001), a higher percentage of correct recall of essential medication information (97% [95–99%] versus 45% [36–53%], p<0.0001), and better recognition of unsafe doses (93% [87–99%] versus 19% [12–27%], p<0.0001) as compared to usual practice. The pac2 also significantly reduced average medication calculation times (1.5 minutes [1.3–1.7 minutes] versus 1.9 minutes [1.6–2.2 minutes], p=0.0028) as compared to usual practice. CONCLUSIONS The pac2 significantly improved the performance of drug calculations by pediatric and critical care nurses during simulated clinical scenarios designed to mimic point-of-care dosing. These results suggest that the pac2 addresses an area of safety vulnerability for point-of-care dosing practices and could be a useful addition to a hospital's overall program to minimize medication errors.

Author(s):  
Paul Atkinson ◽  
Bob Jarman ◽  
Tim Harris ◽  
Rip Gangahar ◽  
David Lewis ◽  
...  

Point-of-Care Ultrasound in Emergency Medicine and Resuscitation provides a curriculum-based guide to the integration of ultrasound into everyday practice for clinicians in emergency medicine and critical care medicine and for resuscitation. In addition to describing commonly used protocols, we focus on how ultrasound can be used to help to answer specific clinical questions and provide guidance for procedures at the point of care, augmenting traditional clinical skills. This chapter introduces the general concepts of using ultrasound at the bedside, describes how to use point-of-care ultrasound (PoCUS), and provides clinical scenarios as examples of where PoCUS can improve clinical care.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (04) ◽  
pp. 312-329
Author(s):  
Isaac Nyabuto Onwongá ◽  
Hannah Inyama ◽  
Eve Risper Rajula

Background of the study: Most drugs given as Microinfusion require infusion pumps to administer. They are very potent with very narrow therapeutic index and any small changes on the process results in enormous effects to patients. The nursing profession has a duty to advocate for patients rights as well as do no harm. One of the core goals of nurses is medication administration; this puts nurses in the last line of defence against medication administration errors (MAEs). This study aimed to look into the roles played by nurse that hamper the efforts to reduce the Microinfusion MAEs on which minimal studies have been done. Objective: This study determined the competency level influencing the administration of Microinfusion medication by critical care nurses at Kenyatta National Hospital’s (KNH) Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Significance of study: Local data in the area of Microinfusion MAEs is not available, specifically KNH’s ICU. This study therefore sought to breech this gap and hopes to influence policy on management of critical patients, patient safety, environment, and curriculum development so as to reduce Microinfusion MAEs. Methodology: This study used a descriptive cross-sectional study design, simple random sampling was used to pick 64 participants. Quantitative data was analyzed by both descriptive and inferential statistics, which included regression analysis. Descriptive statistics were presented by use of the mean, percentages and standard deviation. Chi-square was used to determine statistical significance of the differences in proportions and logistic regression was used to identify factors that lead to Medication administration errors. Necessary ethical approval was sought. Results: The prevalence of MAEs was at 64.1% in the last six months, 65.6% 0f the respondents reported lack of supportive supervision, 37.5% of the respondents reported not to know mechanisms in place for reporting Microinfusion medication errors. This prevalence was of statistical significance when cross tabulated with critical care nurses competency level (p<0.05) on aspects such as; having prescription checks [95%CI= 0.000-17.9; p=0.008], working experience, type of medication error, checking weight of patients [p=0.019], reporting of the errors [95%CI = 0.1-0.8; p=0.019], documenting drug errors and monitoring patients after drug administration. Conclusion and recommendation: The prevalence of Microinfusion administration errors in KNH-ICU is high. There is need to ensure that nurses are always equipped with adequate knowledge and experience in drug administration through trainings and mentorship programs as this will reduce  medication errors and increase  safety of patient  in health facilities.


2020 ◽  
Vol 105 (9) ◽  
pp. e10.1-e10
Author(s):  
Caitlin Cubbin

AimTo perform a retrospective analysis of tenfold medication errors between the 1st January 2017 and the 31st December 2018 and identify contributing factors.MethodInformation from all tenfold medication errors reported to the Ulysses system between 1st January 2017 and 31st December 2018 which met the criteria was inputted into a data collection sheet. Information gathered included the age of the patient, the time the error occurred, the location within the hospital, the point in the medication process the error occurred, the drug involved and the NCC-MERP category of harm assigned to the error. Reports were excluded if they were repeated entries or if they did not meet the criteria for a tenfold medication error. The total number of medication errors reported per month and the total number of admissions per month was also identified. Once data collection was complete, these errors were qualitatively analysed and compared with those of a previous audit using errors reported from 1st January 2013 to 31st December 2014.ResultsTenfold errors were most likely to be reported in the Critical Care areas (34.4% of tenfold errors being reported over the two-year period). Prescribing was the most common origin of error accounting for 54.3% of tenfold errors in 2017 and 51.7% in 2018. The most common category of harm assigned was category B (no harm – error did not reach patient) with a total of 40.6% of the errors reported. The age group with the highest number of errors reported was 29–364 days with 39.3% tenfold medication errors reported over the two-year period. Morphine was the most common drug involved accounting for 13.8% of errors reported.ConclusionThe findings from this report mirror the results from the previous audit performed in 2014 in respect to error origin and patient age. Tenfold prescribing errors have more chance of being intercepted before reaching the patient due to there being more steps in the process before administration, therefore it is less likely that errors that originate at prescribing will reach the patient. Tenfold administration errors were more likely to reach the patient and therefore to cause harm. Morphine was the most reported drug in both 2017/18 and the 2013/14 audit suggesting that more work needs to be done on the safe use of opioids. Critical Care was the location with the highest number of errors reported, patients in this area often require complex medication regimes increasing the likelihood of being involved in a medication error.1ReferenceBower R, Coad J, Manning J, et al. A qualitative, exploratory study of nurses’ decision-making when interrupted during medication administration within the paediatric intensive care unit. Intensive Crit Care Nurs 2018;44:11–17.


POCUS Journal ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-14
Author(s):  
Hadiel Kaiyasah, MD, MRCS (Glasgow), ABHS-GS ◽  
Maryam Al Ali, MBBS

Soft tissue ultrasound (ST-USS) has been shown to be of utmost importance in assessing patients with soft tissue infections in the emergency department or critical care unit. It aids in guiding the management of soft tissue infection based on the sonographic findings.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bintang Marsondang Rambe

Latar Belakang Keselamatan pasien (patient safety) rumah sakit adalah suatu sistem dimana rumah sakit membuat asuhan pasien lebih aman yang meliputi assessment risiko, identifikasi dan pengelolaan hal yang berhubungan dengan risiko pasien, pelaporan dan analisis insiden, kemampuan belajar dari insiden dan tindak lanjutnya serta implementasi solusi untuk meminimalkan timbulnya risiko dan mencegah terjadinya cedera yang disebabkan oleh kesalahan akibat melaksanakan suatu tindakan atau tidak mengambil tindakan yang seharusnya diambil yang dilakukan oleh perawat (Kemenkes, 2011).Salah satu kesalahan yang dapat merugikan pasien adalah medication error. Menurut WHO (2016) medication error adalah setiap kejadian yang dapat dicegah yang menyebabkan penggunaan obat yang tidak tepat yang menyebabkan bahaya kepasien, dimana obat berada dalam kendali profesional perawatan kesehatan. proses terjadi medication error dimulai dari tahap prescribing, transcribing, dispensing,dan administration. Kesalahan peresepan (prescribing error), kesalahan penerjemahan resep (transcribing erorr), kesalahan menyiapkan dan meracik obat (dispensing erorr), dan kesalahan penyerahan obat kepada pasien (administration error). Medication error yang paling sering terjadi adalah pada fase administration / pemberian obat yang dilakukan oleh perawat.Administration error terjadi ketika pemberian obat kepada pasien tidak sesuai dengan prinsip enam benar yaitu benar obat, benar pasien, benar dosis, benar rute pemberian, benar waktu pemberian dan benar pendokumentasian. Secara global, kesalahan pemberian obat (medication errors) sampai saat ini masih menjadi isu keselamatan pasien dan kualitas pelayanan di beberapa rumah sakit (Depkes RI, 2015; AHRQ, 2015). Perawat sebagai bagian terbesar dari tenaga kesehatan di rumah sakit, mempunyai peranan dalam kejadian medication error. Perawat berkontribusi karena perawat banyak berperan dalam proses pemberian obat. Pemberian obat/ Medication Administration adalah salah satu intervensi keperawatan yang paling banyak dilakukan, dengan sekitar 5- 20% waktu perawat dialokasikan untuk kegiatan ini (Härkänen et al.,, 2019). Pemberian obat juga mencakup tugas-tugas lain, seperti menyiapkan dan memeriksa obat obatan, memantau efek obat-obatan, mengedukasi pasien tentang pengobatan, dan memperdalam pengetahuan perawat tentang obat – obatan sendiri (DrachZahavy et al., 2014 dalam Yulianti et al., 2019)Berdasarkan isu tersebut, penulis tertarik untuk melakukan literature review terkait faktor perawat dalam pelaksanakan keselamatan pasien terhadap kejadian medication administration error di Rumah Sakit.


Author(s):  
K. Albrecht ◽  
J. Lotz ◽  
L. Frommer ◽  
K. J. Lackner ◽  
G. J. Kahaly

Abstract Purpose Vitamin D (VitD) is a pleiotropic hormone with effects on a multitude of systems and metabolic pathways. Consequently, the relevance of a sufficiently high VitD serum level becomes self-evident. Methods A rapid immunofluorescence assay designed for the point-of-care measurement of serum VitD3 solely was tested. Inter- and intra-assay validation, double testing and result comparison with a standardized laboratory method were performed. Results An overall linear correlation of r = 0.89 (Pearson, 95% CI 0.88–0.92, p < 0.01) between the point of care and the conventional reference assay was registered. Accuracy and precision were of special interest at cut-points (10 ng/ml [mean deviation 1.7 ng/ml, SD 1.98 ng/ml, SE 0.16 ng/ml], 12 ng/ml [MD 0.41, SD 1.89, SE 0.19] and 30 ng/ml [MD − 1.11, SD 3.89, SE 0.35]). Only a slight deviation was detected between the two assays when using fresh (r = 0.91, 95% CI 0.86–0.94, p < 0.01) and frozen serum samples (r = 0.86, 0.82–0.89, p < 0.01). Results remained steady when samples were frozen several times. Inter- and intra-assay validation according to the CLSI protocol as well as multiuser testing showed stable results. Conclusion This novel, innovative, and controlled study indicates that the evaluated rapid point of care VitD assay is reliable, accurate, and suited for clinical practice.


Author(s):  
R Batchelor ◽  
C Thomas ◽  
B J Gardiner ◽  
S J Lee ◽  
S Fleming ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Patients unable to take azoles are a neglected group lacking a standardized approach to antifungal prophylaxis. We evaluated the effectiveness and safety of intermittent liposomal amphotericin (L-AMB) prophylaxis in a heterogenous group of haematology patients. Methods A retrospective cohort of all haematology patients who received a course of intravenous L-AMB defined as 1mg/kg thrice weekly, from 1 July 2013-30 June 2018 were identified from pharmacy records. Outcomes included breakthrough-invasive fungal disease (BIFD), reasons for premature discontinuation and acute kidney injury. Results There were 198 patients who received 273 courses of L-AMB prophylaxis. Using a conservative definition, the BIFD rate was 9.6% (n=19/198) occurring either during L-AMB prophylaxis or up to 7 days from cessation in patients who received a course. Probable/proven-BIFD occurred in 13 patients (6.6%, 13/198), including molds in 54% (n=7) and non-albicans Candidaemia in 46% (n=6). Cumulative incidence of BIFD was highest in patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (6.8%) followed by acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (2.7%) and allogeneic stem cell transplantation (2.5%). The most common indication for L-AMB was chemotherapy or anticancer drug-azole interactions (75% of courses) dominated by vincristine or acute myeloid leukaemia clinical trials, followed by gut absorption concerns (13%) and liver function abnormalities (8.8%). Acute kidney injury using a modified international definition, complicated 27% of courses but was not clinically significant accounting for only 3.3% (9/273) of discontinuations. Conclusions Our findings demonstrate a high rate of BIFD among patients receiving L-AMB prophylaxis. Pragmatic trials will help find the optimal regimen of L-AMB prophylaxis for the many clinical scenarios where azoles are unsuitable, especially as targeted anticancer drugs increase in use.


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