Seven percent of adults and 19 percent of children undergoing chemotherapy treatment in outpatient clinics or at home were given the wrong dosage of medication or experienced other medical mishaps according to a recent study.
The investigation led by Kathleen E. Walsh, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and published in the January 1, 2009 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
"As cancer care continues to shift from the hospital to the outpatient setting, the complexity of care is increasing, as is the potential for medication errors, particularly in the outpatient and home settings," says. Walsh.
An analysis of data on nearly 1,300 patient visits at three adult oncology outpatient clinics and 117 visits at one pediatric facility between Sept. 1, 2005 and May 31, 2006 showed that errors in medication were more common than previously reported by oncology patients.
Of the 90 medication errors involving adults, 55 had the potential to harm the patient and 11 did cause harm. The errors included administration of incorrect medication doses due to confusion over conflicting orders - one written at the time of diagnosis and the other on the day of administration.
Patients were also harmed by over-hydration prior to administration of medication, resulting in pulmonary edema and recurrent complaints of abdominal pain and constipation.
More than 50 percent of errors involving adults were in clinic administration, 28 percent in ordering of medications, and 7 percent in use of the drugs in patients' homes.
About 40 percent of the 22 medication errors in children could have potentially severely harmed with four children needing medical attention. The study further revealed that more than 70 percent of the errors involving children occurred at home.
Examples of pediatric errors included parents giving the wrong dose or the wrong number of doses per day of medicines because of a caregiver's confusion about instructions.
0 comments:
Post a Comment