Efficacy of contrasting background on a drug label: A prospective, randomized study

Gupta, Babita; Gupta, Shruti; Suri, Saurabh; Farooque, Kamran; Yadav, Naveen; Misra, Mahesh C.

doi:10.4103/0970-9185.155154

Cited by 9 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…The majority of studies were conducted in the UK and USA, namely five each [ 18 – 20 , 22 , 24 – 27 , 31 , 32 ]. The remaining six studies were performed in Canada, China, India, Ireland, and Norway [ 17 , 21 , 23 , 28 – 30 ]. Of the sixteen studies, half used healthcare professionals for the tests and half used non-healthcare professionals.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The time it took the participants to identify the information on the existing labels (text directly printed on glass or on a clear label) was significantly longer than for the new white labels. The correct reading score was higher for the ampoules with a white label than for the ampoules with text directly printed on glass or on a clear label [ 21 , 30 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A systematic literature review on strategies to avoid look-alike errors of labels

Larmené-Beld

Alting

Taxis

2018

Eur J Clin Pharmacol

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PurposeUnclear labeling has been recognized as an important cause of look-alike medication errors. The aim of this literature review is to systematically evaluate the current evidence on strategies to minimize medication errors due to look-alike labels.MethodsA literature search of PubMed and EMBASE for all available years was performed independently by two reviewers. Original studies assessing strategies to minimize medication errors due to look-alike labels focusing on readability of labels by health professionals or consumers were included. Data were analyzed descriptively due to the variability of study methods.ResultsSixteen studies were included. Thirteen studies were performed in a laboratory and three in a healthcare setting. Eleven studies evaluated Tall Man lettering, i.e., capitalizing parts of the drug name, two color-coding, and three studies other strategies. In six studies, lower error rates were found for the Tall Man letter strategy; one showed significantly higher error rates. Effects of Tall Man lettering on response time were more varied. A study in the hospital setting did not show an effect on the potential look-alike sound-alike error rate by introducing Tall Man lettering. Color-coding had no effect on the prevention of syringe-swaps in one study.ConclusionsStudies performed in laboratory settings showed that Tall Man lettering contributed to a better readability of medication labels. Only few studies evaluated other strategies such as color-coding. More evidence, especially from real-life setting is needed to support safe labeling strategies.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s00228-018-2471-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A systematic literature review on strategies to avoid look-alike errors of labels

Larmené-Beld

Alting

Taxis

2018

Eur J Clin Pharmacol

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“…34 Outro estudo encontrou que o grupo de profissionais que foram expostos a leitura de rótulo sem contraste despenderam maior tempo para leitura, apresentaram maior dificuldade em realizá-la, além de realizarem mais leituras incorretas do que o grupo de profissionais que receberam ampolas com fundo contrastante. 35 Outra recomendação importante que facilita a leitura do nome do medicamento é este ser impresso longitudinalmente ao longo do comprimento da ampola, nos casos que a largura visível for menor que a altura da etiqueta. 4, [26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33] Dentre os grupos identificados, cinco seguiam tal recomendação; contudo, dois deles traziam as informações do rótulo serigrafadas diretamente no vidro da ampola, o que também dificulta a leitura da ampola.…”

Section: Discussionunclassified

Identifying medications with similar packages in a Brazilian hospital: a multiple step approach

Maciel¹,

Silva²,

Nascimento³

et al. 2021

Rev Bras Farm Hosp Serv Saude

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Objective: To describe the identification of drugs with similar primary packaging available in a large teaching hospital. Methods: This is a descriptive study carried out using a multi-step approach. First, the small volume parenteral drugs and oral solutions available at the institution (Step I) were listed. Then, from the list developed in Step I, groups of drugs with similar packaging (double, trio or foursome) were identified according to their characteristics (Step II). These groups were then visually evaluated by the pharmacy team (Step III), and later by the internal community of the institution (Step IV). Results: A total of 233 drugs in the pharmaceutical forms of interest were available at the institution (Stage I). In step II, 62 groups with similar primary packaging were identified. After evaluation by the pharmacy team, 19 groups remained (Stage III), which were then evaluated by the internal community, generating a final list of 15 groups of drugs with similar primary packaging. Among these, the pharmaceutical form of parenteral use (80%) and the amber ampoule as primary packaging (46.7%) were frequent. Conclusion: The results of the study point to the applicability and adequacy of the multistep approach to identify the presence of groups of drugs with similar primary packaging in a real-world scenario. The identification of these groups of drugs in health care institutions is the first important step to plan strategies to minimize errors involving similar packaging, thus increasing the safety of medication use in the hospital environment.

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“…A systematic review evaluating different strategies to minimize medication errors due to look-alike labels identified 2 studies in which the correct reading score was higher and reading time was shorter for ampoules with a white label than for those with text directly printed on glass or on a clear label 31 . Contrast between the text and the background should be provided by contrasting color combinations, as they improve the legibility and decrease the likelihood of reading errors 34 . In addition to contrasting background, other factors should be considered in order to improve the legibility of ampoules, such as vial size, font size, and orientation of text on the label 18,34 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Contrast between the text and the background should be provided by contrasting color combinations, as they improve the legibility and decrease the likelihood of reading errors 34 . In addition to contrasting background, other factors should be considered in order to improve the legibility of ampoules, such as vial size, font size, and orientation of text on the label 18,34 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Rótulos de medicamentos na perspectiva dos profissionais de saúde brasileiros: dificuldades, nível de satisfação e melhorias propostas

MORAES¹,

PIZZOL²,

FALAVIGNA³

et al. 2022

Rev Bras Farm Hosp Serv Saude

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Objetivo: Avaliar as percepções de profissionais da saúde sobre situações de erros de medicação associado a rotulagem. Métodos: Estudo transversal com 1.056 técnicos de enfermagem, enfermeiros e farmacêuticos entrevistados em 10 capitais brasileiras. Avaliamos a percepção dos participantes sobre a dificuldade em diferenciar ou ver as informações nos rótulos, a probabilidade de ocorrer um erro de medicação e a frequência de erros de medicação, incluindo: 1) frascos ou rótulos semelhantes; 2) duas embalagens do mesmo medicamento, mas com doses diferentes; 3) rótulos de ampolas; 4) rótulos das embalagens blister; e 5) etiquetas impressas nas embalagens secundárias. Resultados: A maioria dos participantes relatou ser difícil ou muito difícil diferenciar entre frascos idênticos (82,4%) e entre diferentes doses do mesmo medicamento (82,5%). A identificação de informações importantes sobre ampolas, blisters e embalagens secundárias foi considerada difícil ou muito difícil por 89,9%, 64,4% e 48,9% dos participantes, respectivamente. Aproximadamente metade dos participantes relatou que um erro era mais provável de ocorrer em situações envolvendo dificuldade em ver as informações em uma ampola, rótulos semelhantes e embalagens do mesmo medicamento, mas com doses diferentes. Conclusão: A dificuldade em pelo menos uma das situações que envolvem a identificação ou diferenciação dos rótulos dos medicamentos é comum entre os profissionais de saúde, levando a uma maior probabilidade de erros de medicação.

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Efficacy of contrasting background on a drug label: A prospective, randomized study

Cited by 9 publications

References 5 publications

A systematic literature review on strategies to avoid look-alike errors of labels

A systematic literature review on strategies to avoid look-alike errors of labels

Identifying medications with similar packages in a Brazilian hospital: a multiple step approach

Rótulos de medicamentos na perspectiva dos profissionais de saúde brasileiros: dificuldades, nível de satisfação e melhorias propostas

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