RESUMO
AIMS: To enumerate and classify errors in physicians' orders of antiseizure medications (ASMs) to people with epilepsy presenting to neurology clinic. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the neurology clinic of a teaching hospital catering to a predominantly rural population. People in whom a diagnosis of epilepsy was confirmed and who presented for the first time with a prior prescription for antiseizure medication/s were included. Their immediate previous prescriptions were assessed for errors, enumerated and classified according to WHO guidelines for prescription writing. RESULTS: Hundred prescriptions of 334 patients screened were analyzed. The number of ASMs prescribed to a participant was 2⯱â¯0.6 (mean⯱â¯SD). We identified a mean of 5⯱â¯4 (median: 3; range: 1-7) errors in each order. These included superscription errors, e.g., missing information on seizure control and frequency (nâ¯=â¯90, 90%), generic name (nâ¯=â¯62, 62%), patient identifiers (nâ¯=â¯57, 57%), prescribers' identifiers (nâ¯=â¯29, 29%) and diagnosis or indication for prescribing the medication/s (nâ¯=â¯55, 55%). The most common inscription and subscription errors were dosing errors (22%) and pharmaceutical form errors (20%) followed by omission (13%), duplication (13%), substitution (12%), commission (9%) and frequency errors (8%). Errors were more common among prescriptions provided by primary-care and Ayurvedic, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) physicians compared to specialists (Pâ¯<â¯0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Errors are common among medication orders provided by non-specialist and specialist physicians. Primary care and AYUSH are more liable to make errors underscoring the need to educate them in basic epilepsy treatment.