Evaluation of medication risk at the transition of care: a cross-sectional study of patients from the ICU to the non-ICU setting.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the incidence and types of medication errors occurring during the transfer of patients from the intensive care unit (ICU) to the non-ICU setting and explore the key factors affecting medication safety in transfer care. DESIGN: Multicentre, retrospective, epidemiological study. PARTICIPANTS: Patients transferred from the ICU to a non-ICU setting between 1 July 2019 and 30 June 2020. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Incidence and types of medication errors. RESULTS: Of the 1546 patients transferred during the study period, 899 (58.15%) had at least one medication error. Most errors (83.00%) were National Coordinating Council (NCC) for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention (MERP) category C. A small number of errors (17.00%) were category D. Among patients with medication errors, there was an average of 1.68 (SD, 0.90; range, 1-5) errors per patient. The most common types of errors were route of administration 570 (37.85%), dosage 271 (17.99%) and frequency 139 (9.23%). Eighty-three per cent of medication errors reached patients but did not cause harm. Daytime ICU transfer (07:00-14:59) and an admission diagnosis of severe kidney disease were found to be factors associated with the occurrence of medication errors as compared with the reference category (OR, 1.40; 95% CI 1.01 to 1.95; OR, 6.78; 95% CI 1.46 to 31.60, respectively).Orders for bronchorespiratory (OR, 5.92; 95% CI 4.2 to 8.32), cardiovascular (OR, 1.91; 95% CI 1.34 to 2.73), hepatic (OR, 1.95; 95% CI 1.30 to 2.91), endocrine (OR, 1.99; 95% CI 1.37 to 2.91), haematologic (OR, 2.58; 95% CI 1.84 to 3.64), anti-inflammatory/pain (OR, 2.80; 95% CI 1.90 to 4.12) and vitamin (OR, 1.73; 95% CI 1.26 to 2.37) medications at transition of care were associated with an increased odds of medication error. CONCLUSIONS: More than half of ICU patients experienced medication errors during the transition of care. The vast majority of medication errors reached the patient but did not cause harm.

Thionamide-induced Agranulocytosis: A Retrospective Analysis of 36 Patients With Hyperthyroidism.

OBJECTIVE: Agranulocytosis is a rare but serious adverse drug reaction (ADR) of thionamide antithyroid drugs (ATDs). We explored the characteristics of ADRs in patients with hyperthyroidism. METHODS: This retrospective study included 3558 inpatients with Graves disease treated in a Class A Grade 3 hospital between 2015 and 2019. The clinical presentation and laboratory workup of patients with antithyroid drug (ATD)-induced agranulocytosis was analyzed. RESULTS: Agranulocytosis was thought to be caused by ATDs in 36 patients. The hospital length of stay was 12 (10-16) days, and hospitalization costs were approximately $2810.89 ($2156.50-$4164.67). The median duration of ATD therapy prior to agranulocytosis development was 30 (20-40) days. Fever (83.33%) and sore throat (75%) were the most common symptoms as early signs of agranulocytosis. The lowest neutrophil counts were 0.01 (0.00-0.03) × 109/L and 0.14 (0.02-0.29) × 109/L in the methimazole and propylthiouracil groups, respectively (P = .037). The recovery times of agranulocytosis were 9.32 ± 2.89 days and 5.60 ± 4.10 days in the methimazole and propylthiouracil groups, respectively (P = .016). Patients with severe agranulocytosis required a longer time to recover (P < .001) and had closer to normal serum thyroxine and triiodothyronine levels. The interval between the first symptom of agranulocytosis and ATD withdrawal was 1 (0-3) day. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with agranulocytosis needed a long hospital length of stay and incurred high costs. Methimazole was prone to causing a more serious agranulocytosis than propylthiouracil. High thyroid hormone was unlikely to play a role in adverse drug reactions. Patient education is important.