1. Medication discrepancies in transition of care of hospitalised children in Brazil: a multicentric study.
- Author
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Aires-Moreno GT, Alcântara TDS, Araújo DCSA, Soares SDM, Gubert VT, Marcon de Oliveira V, Ferreira CM, Vasconcelos-Pereira EF, Lira ARP, Chemello C, Oliveira LMS, Oliveira-Filho AD, and Lyra D Jr
- Subjects
- Brazil, Child, Child, Preschool, Female, Hospitals, Teaching statistics & numerical data, Humans, Infant, Male, Medical Records, Medication Errors adverse effects, Medication Reconciliation, Patient Admission statistics & numerical data, Patient Discharge statistics & numerical data, Patient Transfer statistics & numerical data, Prospective Studies, Documentation statistics & numerical data, Hospitalization statistics & numerical data, Medication Errors statistics & numerical data
- Abstract
Objective: To determine the incidence of medication discrepancies in transition points of care of hospitalised children., Design: A prospective observational multicentre study was carried out between February and August 2019. Data collection consisted of the following steps: sociodemographic data collection, clinical interview with the patient's caregiver, review of patient prescriptions and evaluation of medical records. Medication discrepancies were classified as intentional (documented or undocumented) and unintentional. In addition, discrepancies identified were categorised according to the medication discrepancy taxonomy. Unintentional discrepancies were assessed for potential clinical harm to the patient., Setting: Paediatric clinics of four teaching hospitals in Brazil., Patients: Children aged 1 month-12 years., Findings: A total of 248 children were included, 77.0% (n=191) patients had at least one intentional discrepancy; 20.2% (n=50) patients had at least one unintended discrepancy and 15.3% (n=38) patients had at least one intentional discrepancy and an unintentional one. The reason for the intentional discrepancy was not documented in 49.6% (n=476) of the cases. The most frequent unintentional discrepancy was medication omission (54.1%; n=66). Low potential to cause discomfort was found in 53 (43.4%) unintentional discrepancies, while 55 (45.1%) had the potential to cause moderate discomfort and 14 (11.5%) could potentially cause severe discomfort., Conclusions: Although most medication discrepancies were intentional, the majority of these were not documented by the healthcare professionals. Unintentional discrepancies were often related to medication omission and had a potential risk of causing harm to hospitalised children., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)
- Published
- 2021
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