Medication Errors at a Tertiary Hospital Intensive Care Unit

Background The intensive care unit (ICU) generates more medication prescriptions per patient day than any other unit in the hospital. The dynamics of the ICU environment, coupled with the complexity of patient pathology, increases the risk of medication errors. This study aimed to evaluate the incidence and spectrum of medication errors in an adult general ICU in Johannesburg, South Africa. Methods A retrospective chart review was conducted at a 19-bed ICU in a tertiary-level hospital in Johannesburg. Data were independently collected by two of the study investigators. The doctors’ prescription and the nurses’ administration section of patient bedside charts were scrutinized for drug prescription and administration errors. Results Of the 656 patient days studied, 3237 drugs (5.6 drugs per patient day) were prescribed. There were a total of 359 medication errors, comprising 237 (66.0%) prescription and 122 (34.0%) administration errors. The total error rate per 1000 patient days was 621.1, while the total error rate per 1000 drug prescriptions was 110.9. The most common errors were incorrect dose prescribed (n=69, 19.2%), incorrect dosing interval prescribed (n=48, 13.4%), incorrect dose administered (n=42, 11.7%) and failure to administer the prescribed drug (n=38, 10.6%). Conclusion The overall occurrence of medication errors is high but is in keeping with general international trends. Targeted interventions should be implemented to minimize the frequency of medication errors in the ICU and consequent risk to patients.