Factors Influencing Reported Rates of Paediatric Medication Errors

Abstract

Background and Aim Medication errors represent the largest proportion of all types of medical errors. 1 They occur at all stages of patient management. 2 Limited evidence and popular belief suggests that they are more common in neonatal and paediatric patients than in adults. A 2006 systematic review of studies identifying the rate of medication errors in paediatric patients found only 32 relevant articles. 3 We are aware that the literature on this subject has increased dramatically in the last few years. The aim of this study was to identify and explore all published studies since 2006 which determined the rate and/or number of medication errors in neonates and children. Methods Six databases were searched (BNI, EMBASE, IPA, MEDLINE, AMED and CINAHL) from April 2006 to March 2011.Inclusion criteria: original research studies identifying the rate or number of medication errors in neonatal or paediatric settings or in the general population where neonatal or paediatric data were separately identified. Results 153 papers met the inclusion criteria. The studies involved:29 countries-mostly the US (83 studies) followed by the UK (16 studies) 22 different settings-mostly specialist children's hospitals followed respectively by neonatal units and paediatric units in general hospitals.