Medical prescribing errors (MPEs) are one of the most common causes of adverse events. Intensive care units are a high-risk setting for their occurrence.
Objectives: To describe the incidence and types of MPEs in our Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. To assess whether the implementation of an improvement strategy on MPEs affects their incidence in the short- and long-term.
Population and methods: Prospective, uncontrolled, before-after study. Universe and sample. All medical prescriptions for patients hospitalized in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit of the Hospital General de Niños Pedro de Elizalde from July-December, 2013 and from July-August, 2014.
Results: In the pre-intervention period, MPEs rate was 13.9%, the most common being the absence of the time a given medication was modified, followed by missing a dose or medication. The medication most frequently involved in MPEs was the sedation and continuous analgesia group. After the implementation of an improvement program on MPEs, the incidence decreased to 6.3 errors every 100 prescriptions. The MPE type which showed the greatest reduction was the absence of the time of modification. Except for parenteral hydration and electrolyte supplementation, the rest of the analyzed medication groups showed a marked reduction. One year after having reviewed the situation, the MPE rate was 5.8%, and values remained similar to those of the immediate postintervention period.
Conclusion: Managing an improvement program on MPEs resulted in a decrease in its incidence.