Medication error trends in Middle Eastern countries: A systematic review on healthcare services

Medication errors (MEs) are a critical worldwide concern and can cause genuine clinical ramifications for patients. Studies concerning such errors have not been undertaken as much in the Middle Eastern region. The aim of this study was to systematically review and identify studies done in the Middle Eastern nations to recognize the principle contributory factors included and to estimate the prevalence in the region. A review of the retrospective, prospective, cohort, and case–control studies based on MEs in the Middle Eastern nations was directed in January 2020 utilizing the accompanying databases: Embase, Medline, PubMed, Ebsco, Cochrane, Scopus, and Prospero. The search methodology incorporated all ages and in English only dating back to 2010. The search methodology included articles about MEs in the Middle East with errors in people of all ages, articles in English, and articles dating back to 2010. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses appraisal instrument was used to assess the quality of the included articles. Individual data extraction, pooled analysis, and the accompanying databases were used for data analysis of the MEs in eligible studies. Fifteen of the 18 articles reviewed from four Middle Eastern countries had low risk of bias, while three out of 18 had medium risk of bias. A total of 58,221 reported people were studied, with a total of 34,730.9 reported MEs. The pooled analysis showed that numbers of errors were mainly prescribing errors (n = 22,715.25), general prescription errors (n = 8097.16), and commission errors (n = 158.2). Iran had the highest rate amid the reported administration errors, at 25.07% (599.11/2388.9). Measuring a patient's clinical laboratory values was another less common type of prescription ME. Lebanon reported to have the highest monitoring errors, with a rate of 13.13% (277.91/2117). A negative trend was shown in the amount of MEs in the vast majority of the nations under the examination. The under-reporting or uncertain information recommended that significan changes are needed in the healthcare sector. There is solid need of literature on healthcare services in the region to completely understand and address the MEs and issues.