BackgroundMedication error is common and preventable cause of medical errors and occurs as a result of either human error or a system flaw. The consequences of such errors are more harmful and frequent among pediatric patients.ObjectiveTo assess medication prescribing errors and associated factors in the pediatric wards of Dessie Referral Hospital, Northeast Ethiopia.MethodsA cross-sectional study was carried out in the pediatric wards of Dessie Referral Hospital from February 17 to March 17, 2012. Data on the prescribed drugs were collected from patient charts and prescription papers among all patients who were admitted during the study period. Descriptive statistics was used to determine frequency, prevalence, means, and standard deviations. The relationship between dependent and independent variables were computed using logistic regression (with significance declared at p-value of 0.05 and 95% confidence interval).ResultsOut of the 384 Medication order s identified during the study, a total of 223 prescribing errors were identified. This corresponds to an overall medication prescribing error rate of 58.07%. Incomplete prescriptions and dosing errors were the two most common types of prescribing errors. Antibiotics (54.26%) were the most common classes of drugs subjected to prescribing error. Day of the week and route of administration were factors significantly associated with increased prescribing error.ConclusionsMedication prescribing errors are common in the pediatric wards of Dessie Referral Hospital. Improving quick access to up to date reference materials, providing regular refresher trainings and possibly including a clinical pharmacist in the healthcare team are recommended.

ObjectivesAnti-tuberculosis drug-induced hepatotoxicity is a common serious adverse drug reaction. This study intended to determine the prevalence and associated factors of drug-induced hepatotoxicity among tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus co-infected patients in Dessie referral hospital northeast Ethiopia.ResultsIn this cross-sectional study 84 patients were enrolled retrospectively. Data from September 1/2015 to August 30/2018 were extracted from March 1/2019 to April 1/2019. Association between dependent and independent variables was determined using the odds ratio and a P value of < 0.05 was considered as statistical significance. Out of 84 patients, 17 patients developed drug-induced hepatotoxicity which makes the prevalence of drug-induced hepatotoxicity 20.2%. The result revealed that the presence of disseminated or extrapulmonary tuberculosis [(AOR: 7.728, 95% CI (1.516–39.404)] and/or body mass index less than 18.5 kg/m2 [(AOR = 5.593, 95% CI (1.180–26.519)] were a risk factor for drug-induced hepatotoxicity. Tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus co-infected patients with extra- pulmonary tuberculosis and/or body mass index less than 18.5 kg/m2 should be closely followed and supervised for the development of hepatotoxicity.