Preventing medication errors in neonatology: Is it a dream?

Table 1 Stages of the medication pathway in the hospital setting

Stage	Healthcare professional involved
Decision on appropriate medicine	Physician
Prescription	Physician
Review of prescription	Pharmacist
Preparing, dispensing and checking the medicine	Pharmacist
Delivery of medicine to the ward (or home)	Pharmacy staff or nurses
Preparing to administer medicine	Nurse
Administering medicine to patient	Nurse
Recording medicine on patient chart	Nurse
Monitoring patient response	Nurse

Table 2 Epidemiology of medication errors in hospitalized neonates and children: Selected studies

Ref.	Study design	Clinical setting	Detection method	Studyperiod	Type ofmedication studied	MEs per1000 pt-days	MEs per100 admits	MEsper year
Raju et al[19], 1989	Prospective study	NICU, PICU	Incident/error reports	4 yr	All types	8.80	14.70	-
Vincer et al[20], 1989	Prospective study	NICU	Incident/error reports	2 yr	All types	13.40	-	-
Ross et al[21], 2000	Retrospective review	Ward, NICU, PICU	Incident/error reports	65 mo	All types	0.51	0.15	-
Kaushal et al[8], 2001	Prospective cohort study	Ward, NICU, PICU	Chart reviews	6 wk	All types	157	55	-
Frey et al[22], 2002	Prospective survey	NICU, PICU	Incident/error reports	1 yr	All types	-	-	284
King et al[23], 2003	Retrospective cohort study	Tertiary care pediatric hospital	Incident/error reports	6 yr	All types	4.49	-	-
Sangtawesin et al[24], 2003	Retrospective review	Pediatric hospital	Incident/error reports	15 mo	All types	-	1	-
Manias et al[25], 2014	Retrospective clinical audit	Ward, NICU, PICU	Incident/error reports	4 yr	All types	6.58	1.96	-

NICU: Neonatal intensive care unit; PICU: Pediatric intensive care unit; ME: Medication error.