BackgroundMedication administration errors in patient care have been shown to be frequent and serious. Such errors are particularly prevalent in highly technical specialties such as the intensive care unit (ICU). In Ethiopia, the prevalence of medication administration errors in the ICU is not studied.ObjectiveTo assess medication administration errors in the intensive care unit of Jimma University Specialized Hospital (JUSH), Southwest Ethiopia.MethodsProspective observation based cross-sectional study was conducted in the ICU of JUSH from February 7 to March 24, 2011. All medication interventions administered by the nurses to all patients admitted to the ICU during the study period were included in the study. Data were collected by directly observing drug administration by the nurses supplemented with review of medication charts. Data was edited, coded and entered in to SPSS for windows version 16.0. Descriptive statistics was used to measure the magnitude and type of the problem under study.ResultsPrevalence of medication administration errors in the ICU of JUSH was 621 (51.8%). Common administration errors were attributed to wrong timing (30.3%), omission due to unavailability (29.0%) and missed doses (18.3%) among others. Errors associated with antibiotics took the lion's share in medication administration errors (36.7%).ConclusionMedication errors at the administration phase were highly prevalent in the ICU of Jimma University Specialized Hospital. Supervision to the nurses administering medications by more experienced ICU nurses or other relevant professionals in regular intervals is helpful in ensuring that medication errors don’t occur as frequently as observed in this study.

BackgroundDrug therapy problem is any undesirable event experienced by a patient during drug therapy that interferes with achieving the desired goals of therapy. Drug therapy problems are common causes of patient morbidity and mortality. There was no study that has been done on drug therapy problems in the study area, Dessie referral hospital, northeast Ethiopia.MethodA prospective observational study was conducted among hospitalized patients in the medical ward of Dessie referral hospital from March 01 to May 31, 2014. Ethical approval was obtained and informed consent was signed by each study participant before the commencement of the study. All patients admitted to the ward during the study period were included in the study. Data regarding each patient’s demographics, medical condition, drug therapy and patient compliance to the drug therapy were collected using pretested checklists, and drug therapy problems were determined based on the standard practice and textbooks. Descriptive statistical analysis was done using SPSS Version 20 Software.ResultA total of 147 patients were included, 75.51% of whom experienced at least one drug therapy problem. During the 3 month period a total of 159 drug therapy problems were identified of which needs additional drug therapy (35.85%) was the most common followed by unnecessary drug therapy (30.19%) and dosage too low (13.2%). Antibiotics, 75 (40.32%) was the most frequent drug class involved in drug therapy problems followed by cardiovascular drugs, 69 (37.1%) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, 9 (4.84%). Ceftriaxone (25.81%) was the most frequent specific drug prone to the drug therapy problems followed by spiranolactone (14.52%), enalapril (6.45%) and furosemide (6.45%).ConclusionsThree out of four patients experienced at least one drug therapy problem during their hospital stay in the medical ward, with the most commonly observed DTP being no drug therapy prescribed for a condition requiring drug treatment.

Introduction: Anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) are the primary therapeutic modes for epileptic patients and have been demonstrated to control seizure, which decreases morbidity and mortality associated with epilepsy. There is a paucity of data on treatment outcome among epileptic patients in resource poor settings. The aim of this study was to assess AED utilization pattern and treatment outcome among epileptic patients on follow-up. Materials and Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted among epileptic patients on follow-up at Epilepsy clinic of Jimma University specialized hospital. A total of 290 patient record cards which had 3 years of follow-up information was used to evaluate AED utilization pattern and treatment outcome through medical records review. Results: From a total 290 cards of epileptic patients on follow-up, 170 (58.6%) were males. The common type of seizure diagnosed was generalized tonic clonic seizure, 232 (80%). Monotherapy was commonly used in the management of seizure, 54.5%, among which phenobarbitone was the most commonly utilized single anticonvulsant drug. One hundred and sixty-five (56.7%) patients were seizure free during follow-up periods and 125 (43.3%) patients were not, of which 121 (73.3%) of patients had 1 up to 5 seizure attacks per 3 months during the 3 years follow-up period. Conclusion: All studied epileptic patients were put on traditional AEDs; phenobarbitone being the most frequently prescribed single drug. About one in every two epileptic patients evaluated were seizure free during the 3 years follow-up period.

Antibiotics are drugs used for treating infectious disease such as bacterial infections, fungal infections and some parasitic infection but unwise use may contribute to resistance development and poor management of infectious diseases. Though pattern of antibiotic use was determined in different parts of Ethiopia, it is not known in Dessie referral hospital (DRH). This study aimed to assess antibiotic prescribing pattern in Dessie Referral hospital, Northeast Ethiopia, in January, 2012. Retrospective study was conducted from January 16 to 25, 2012, in the outpatient pharmacies of DRH. Prescription cards from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011 were selected using random sampling techniques and reviewed using pre-tested data collection format. Finally data was edited, coded, tallied and cleaned. Descriptive statistics was computed. On review of 770 prescription papers, 378 (24.37%) antibiotics were prescribed. Antibiotics prescribed with over, under and optimum dose were 19 (5.02%), 13 (3.43%), 346 (91.53%), respectively. About 15 (4%), 10 (2.6%) and 1 (0.3%) of antibiotics were prescribed by incorrect frequency, short and extended duration of administration, respectively. The most common dosage forms of antibiotics prescribed were solutions 120 (33.3%), tablets 103 (27.24%) and capsules 72 (19.04%). Oral route 219 (58%) followed by parental route 135 (35.7%) was the most commonly used route of drug administration. There was rational use of antibiotics in the hospital though there are some problems that have to be considered.

BackgroundA number of studies indicated that prescribing errors in the intensive care unit (ICU) are frequent and lead to patient morbidity and mortality, increased length of stay, and substantial extra costs. In Ethiopia, the prevalence of medication prescribing errors in the ICU has not previously been studied.ObjectiveTo assess medication prescribing errors in the ICU of Jimma University Specialized Hospital (JUSH), Southwest Ethiopia.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in the ICU of Jimma University Specialized Hospital from February 7 to April 15, 2011. All medication-prescribing interventions by physicians during the study period were included in the study. Data regarding prescribing interventions were collected from patient cards and medication charts. Prescribing errors were determined by comparing prescribed drugs with standard treatment guidelines, textbooks, handbooks, and software. Descriptive statistics were generated to meet the study objective.ResultsThe prevalence of medication prescribing errors in the ICU of Jimma University Specialized Hospital was 209/398 (52.5%). Common prescribing errors were using the wrong combinations of drugs (25.7%), wrong frequency (15.5%), and wrong dose (15.1%). Errors associated with antibiotics represented a major part of the medication prescribing errors (32.5%).ConclusionMedication errors at the prescribing phase were highly prevalent in the ICU of Jimma University Specialized Hospital. Health care providers need to establish a system which can support the prescribing physicians to ensure appropriate medication prescribing practices.