Table 6 Examples of medication prescribing errors at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Faulty use of medications detected |
|---|
Tramadol 50 mg IV TID was prescribed with morphine 30 mg po BID and pethidine 50 mg IV TID where one/two of these drugs is enough (duplication error) |
Nimodipine was initially prescribed on three times daily(TID) basis instead of Q4 h (wrong frequency) |
A patient with peptic ulcer disease (PUD) was initially taking esomeprazole 20 mg IV bid was given cimetidine 200 mg IV bid and ranitidine 50 mg IV bid where one drug is enough (duplication error) |
Tramadol 500 mg IV TID was prescribed for 66 years old patient to control pain, instead of 50 mg IV TID (wrong dose) |
Forgot to define the route of administration of heparin as IV or SC (omission error) Forgot to define the dose of dopamine (omission error) |
Mannitol 25 mg IV QID was prescribed as a maintenance dose for 50 kg patient with increase ICP, instead of 25 g IV QID (wrong dose) Captopril was prescribed for a patient with hyperkalemia (k:5.3) to control hypertension (wrong indication) Hydrochlorothiazide was abbreviated as Hct (wrong abbreviation) |