March 2003
Kids in ER face 1 in 10 chance of medical error
A report published in the
journal Pediatrics has revealed that one in every 10 children
treated in the emergency room may be the victim of a medical error. The
study showed that 10% of children going to the ER either get the wrong
dose of medicine or are given drugs at an incorrect frequency.
Dr. Eran Kozer of the
Hospital for Sick Children in
Toronto
and colleagues reviewed
the medical records of 1,532 children treated in the emergency room of a
pediatric hospital, and evaluated each one separately to determine whether
a medication error had occurred. They gave each error a numerical
'severity score.'
"Prescribing errors
were identified in 10.1% of the charts," they found. The report also
noted that between 44,000 and 98,000 people die each year in the
U.S.
as a result of medical
errors -- and said that prescribing errors occur most frequently in
pediatric and emergency departments.
The researchers
concluded: "Medication errors are a common cause of iatrogenic
morbidity and mortality." In other words, people often die because
doctors give them the wrong drugs, and children are often the victim of
these errors. "The most common types of prescribing errors were
dosing errors, followed by drugs given with incorrect frequency,"
they added.
Drugs most commonly
involved in prescribing errors included acetaminophen, antibiotics, asthma
medications and antihistamines.
SOURCE:
"Variables Associated With Medication Errors in Pediatric Emergency
Medicine," Pediatrics,
Oct. 4, 2002
.
