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Identification and Evaluation of Medication Errors in Pre- and Post-Operative Setting

Inappropriate drug omission and drug re-initiation all through surgery may lead to numerous adverse events that may have an excessive effect on the patient’s health and postoperative outcome. Hence, we aim to identify the incidence of medication error due to pre-operative drug omission and postoperative drug re-initiation. Methods and materials: It is a single-centred, observational study conducted prospectively in a Tertiary care hospital for a study period of six months. Case sheets of patients undergoing various surgeries were collected via an organized interview with the patient or the patient’s care taker. The evidence attained from health care professionals and patients were construed, and the results were produced. Results: There was a highly prevalent medication error due to pre-operative drug omission and postoperative drug re-initiation (59.7%). A total of about 172 medication errors were identified in 288 patients. The acceptance of these medication errors by physicians were high (73.83%) and few medication errors were rejected with proper justification (15.69%). Most of the medications errors were observed in the use of anti-platelet and anti-diabetic drugs. Conclusion: The study concludes that the incidence of medication error due to pre-operative drug omission and postoperative drug re-initiation were high in the study population, and proactive identification of these errors may prevent various adverse events and improve patient’s postoperative outcome.

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Swathi Swaroopa B, Sadagoban G K, Prithika S I, Manasa K, Rudrani T. Identification and Evaluation of Medication Errors in Pre- and Post-Operative Setting. International Journal of Pharmaceutical Research [Internet]. 2021 [cited 16 August 2021];13(01):4684-4690. https://doi.org/10.31838/ijpr/2021.13.01.669