Medication prescribing errors and associated factors at the pediatric wards of Dessie Referral Hospital, Northeast Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Medication error is common and preventable cause of medical errors and occurs as a result of either human error or a system flaw. The consequences of such errors are more harmful and frequent among pediatric patients. OBJECTIVE: To assess medication prescribing errors and associated factors in the pediatric wards of Dessie Referral Hospital, Northeast Ethiopia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out in the pediatric wards of Dessie Referral Hospital from February 17 to March 17, 2012. Data on the prescribed drugs were collected from patient charts and prescription papers among all patients who were admitted during the study period. Descriptive statistics was used to determine frequency, prevalence, means, and standard deviations. The relationship between dependent and independent variables were computed using logistic regression (with significance declared at p-value of 0.05 and 95% confidence interval). RESULTS: Out of the 384 Medication order s identified during the study, a total of 223 prescribing errors were identified. This corresponds to an overall medication prescribing error rate of 58.07%. Incomplete prescriptions and dosing errors were the two most common types of prescribing errors. Antibiotics (54.26%) were the most common classes of drugs subjected to prescribing error. Day of the week and route of administration were factors significantly associated with increased prescribing error. CONCLUSIONS: Medication prescribing errors are common in the pediatric wards of Dessie Referral Hospital. Improving quick access to up to date reference materials, providing regular refresher trainings and possibly including a clinical pharmacist in the healthcare team are recommended.