RESUMEN
Background: The safety of care provided is based on an analysis of medication incidents and accidents. Objective: The primary objective was to describe medication-related incidents and accidents (I&A) within a university-affiliated hospital. Methods: This retrospective descriptive study was based on data from a 500-bed mother-child university-affiliated hospital. All I&As declared between April 1, 2018, and March 31, 2022, were considered. The analysis included all medication-related I&As that occurred during an admission or in an outpatient setting. Some variables were recoded manually. Descriptive statistical analyses were performed. Results: A total of 23 284 I&As were considered, including 7578 medication-related I&As. Daily averages of 15.9 ± 14.0 I&As and 5.2 ± 0.3 medication-related I&As were reported. There were 22.4 medication-related I&As/1000 inpatient days. The majority of medication-related I&As occurred in surgery (20%, 1530/7578), oncology (19%, 1405/7578), and pediatrics (16%, 1200/7578). Most were associated with incorrect dosing (21%, 1575/7578); infiltration, extravasation, or removed lines (19%, 1405/7578); and omissions (16%, 1205/7578). Physical consequences were reported in 15% (1158/7578) of the medication-related I&As. Conversely, psychological consequences were reported in less than 1% (44/7578) of medication-related I&As. Conclusions: This study provides a comprehensive descriptive profile over a 4-year period. Most of the reported I&As did not lead to consequences for patients. The sharing of ratios promotes comparative analysis with other facilities and can contribute to discussions about risk reduction. A culture of reporting events is present within this health care facility.
RESUMEN
Background: Since 2022, it has been mandatory in Québec to report all incidents and accidents (I&As) occurring in health-care facilities. Since 2011, a summary report of these I&As has been published each year. However, it is difficult to compare health facilities given that no denominator is specified and ratios are not calculated. Objective: The primary objective was to calculate the ratios of total I&As and medication-related I&As per 1000 inpatient-days per type of facility for all health-care facilities in Québec. Methods: This retrospective descriptive study was based on data from the period of April 1, 2016, to March 31, 2021. Data were extracted from the National Register of Incidents and Accidents Occurring during the Provision of Health Care and Social Services in Québec (Registre national des incidents et accidents survenus lors de la prestation des soins et services de santé au Québec) and financial reports. The ratios of total I&As/1000 inpatient-days and medication-related I&As/1000 inpatient-days, expressed as the mean ± standard deviation and median [minimum; maximum], were calculated. Results: A total of 85 health-care facilities had usable data, specifically 33 acute-care facilities, 45 long-term care facilities, and 7 rehabilitation facilities. The mean ratio for total I&As/1000 inpatient-days varied from 33 ± 19 to 38 ± 22 in acute-care facilities, from 14 ± 5 to 16 ± 7 in long-term care facilities, and from 99 ± 39 to 147 ± 55 in rehabilitation facilities. The mean ratio for medication-related I&As/1000 inpatient-days varied from 11 ± 7 to 12 ± 7 in acute care facilities, from 3 ± 2 to 4 ± 3 in long-term care facilities, and from 24 ± 10 to 40 ± 21 in rehabilitation facilities. Conclusions: This exploratory study demonstrated the feasibility of calculating I&A ratios from the National Register of Incidents and Accidents Occurring during the Provision of Health Care and Social Services in Québec. These ratios facilitate discussion of the reporting culture of I&As within the health-care system. It is hoped that these ratios will be added to future annual reports from the Québec I&A register.
RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: Audits are essential for reviewing and improving the medication-use process. Identifying areas for improvement can limit the risk of errors when preparing and administering drugs. Pediatric centers face specific challenges in ensuring the safety of the medication-use process. The objective of this study was to observe and compare compliance with criteria for the preparation and administration of medications by nurses in a mother-and-child university hospital center over two consecutive years. METHODS: This observational cross-sectional study was conducted in a Canadian mother-and-child university hospital center. Audits were conducted over a 1-month period in 16 and 18 nursing care sectors in 2021 and 2022, respectively. The standardized audit evaluated compliance with prespecified criteria related to the preparation and administration of medication by nursing staff (77 criteria for 2021 and 82 criteria for 2022). The auditors comprised nurses and a pharmacist trained by the research team. Compliance was compared between years and assessed through a chi-square test. RESULTS: The audit consisted of 522 observations in 2021 and 448 observations in 2022. Overall compliance was 76% in 2021 and 66% in 2022. The compliance rate by criterion ranged from 16% to 100%. In 2021 and 2022, 51 (84%) and 52 (87%) of the criteria, respectively, had compliance rates of more than 75%, and 12 (20%) and eight (13%), respectively, had 100% compliance. There were statistically significant decreases in compliance for nine of the 39 criteria for preparation of medications, notably prior hand hygiene (91%% vs. 84%, p = 0.002), and for six of the 17 criteria for administration of medications, including mentioning possible adverse effects to the patient (41% vs- 30%, p = 0.008). CONCLUSION: In this study, compliance was over 75% for most of the criteria. However, for a few criteria, we observed a decrease in compliance from 2021 to 2022. Various hypotheses are proposed to explain these decreases, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.