Reactions 1451 - 11 May 2013

At-home med errors commonamong kids with cancer

In a US prospective study that reviewed at-homemedication use of paediatric cancer patients, the rate ofmedication errors was 70.2 per 100 patients (95% CI58.9, 81.6). The rate of errors with the potential forinjury (life-threatening, serious, or significant) was36.3 per 100 patients (29.3, 43.3).

The rate of errors with injury (i.e. preventable adversedrug events) was 3.6 per 100 patients (1.7, 5.5). Theinjuries were all considered significant. The mostcommon types of errors were wrong dose or frequency(28%), missed doses (19%), incorrect medication label(18%), prescribing error (13%) and using expiredmedication (13%). Improved communication betweenthe families and their physicians could have avoided36% of these errors, as the cause was often a dosechange, which made the medication’s printed label outof date.

Overall, there were more errors with non-chemotherapy medications than chemotherapymedications. Oncologists may need to take this intoaccount as patients with cancer are likely to see theironcologist more often than their primary care physician.

These findings highlight that efforts to minimisemedication errors should not only focus on the care ofhospitalised patients by nurses or self-care by adultpatients, but also on parental care of children at home.Walsh KE, et al. Medication Errors in the Home: A Multisite Study of ChildrenWith Cancer. Pediatrics : [12 pages], 29 Apr 2013. Available from: URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1542/peds.2012-2434 803086597

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Reactions 11 May 2013 No. 14510114-9954/10/1451-0001/$14.95 Adis © 2010 Springer International Publishing AG. All rights reserved