[Prescription errors in a neonatal intensive care unit from Buenos Aires].

BACKGROUND

Although error could be present in almost every medical practice, they are more frequent and potentially more dangerous in neonatal intensive care units (NICU).

OBJECTIVE

To determine prescription error rate of intravenous drugs in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), and to describe type of error (dose, dilution, and interval) and medication (antibiotics, inotropics, or analgesics).

METHODS

Observational study including medical records of patients hospitalized in a NICU, receiving any of the above mentioned drugs. Each prescription was compared with one provided by a specific software. Prescription error was defined as >10% of difference between both values.

RESULTS

362 prescriptions from 82 patients were analyzed. An error was observed in 42.5% (95%CI 37.4 - 47.8) of all prescriptions, including 148 (96.1%; 95%CI: 91.3-98.4) antibiotics prescriptions, 5 (3.2%; 95%CI: 1.2-7.7) inotropics prescriptions and 1 (0.7%; 95%CI: 0.01-4.2) analgesics prescriptions. Prescription errors were due to frequency error in 53.8% 95%CI: 45.6-61.8 of cases and to volume error in 46.1% (95%CI: 38.1-54.3).

CONCLUSION

Almost half of the intravenous drugs prescriptions included an error, being more frequently related to interval, followed by dosing; no errors in dilution were detected. Using prescription software could improve patient's safety.