Dataset Information

Benzodiazepine Use During Hospitalization: Automated Identification of Potential Medication Errors and Systematic Assessment of Preventable Adverse Events.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Benzodiazepines and "Z-drug" GABA-receptor modulators (BDZ) are among the most frequently used drugs in hospitals. Adverse drug events (ADE) associated with BDZ can be the result of preventable medication errors (ME) related to dosing, drug interactions and comorbidities. The present study evaluated inpatient use of BDZ and related ME and ADE.

Methods

We conducted an observational study within a pharmacoepidemiological database derived from the clinical information system of a tertiary care hospital. We developed algorithms that identified dosing errors and interacting comedication for all administered BDZ. Associated ADE and risk factors were validated in medical records.

Results

Among 53,081 patients contributing 495,813 patient-days BDZ were administered to 25,626 patients (48.3%) on 115,150 patient-days (23.2%). We identified 3,372 patient-days (2.9%) with comedication that inhibits BDZ metabolism, and 1,197 (1.0%) with lorazepam administration in severe renal impairment. After validation we classified 134, 56, 12, and 3 cases involving lorazepam, zolpidem, midazolam and triazolam, respectively, as clinically relevant ME. Among those there were 23 cases with associated adverse drug events, including severe CNS-depression, falls with subsequent injuries and severe dyspnea. Causality for BDZ was formally assessed as 'possible' or 'probable' in 20 of those cases. Four cases with ME and associated severe ADE required administration of the BDZ antagonist flumazenil.

Conclusions

BDZ use was remarkably high in the studied setting, frequently involved potential ME related to dosing, co-medication and comorbidities, and rarely cases with associated ADE. We propose the implementation of automated ME screening and validation for the prevention of BDZ-related ADE.

SUBMITTER: Niedrig DF

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5053537 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Benzodiazepine Use During Hospitalization: Automated Identification of Potential Medication Errors and Systematic Assessment of Preventable Adverse Events.

Niedrig David Franklin DF Hoppe Liesa L Mächler Sarah S Russmann Heike H Russmann Stefan S

PloS one 20161006 10

<h4>Objective</h4>Benzodiazepines and "Z-drug" GABA-receptor modulators (BDZ) are among the most frequently used drugs in hospitals. Adverse drug events (ADE) associated with BDZ can be the result of preventable medication errors (ME) related to dosing, drug interactions and comorbidities. The present study evaluated inpatient use of BDZ and related ME and ADE.<h4>Methods</h4>We conducted an observational study within a pharmacoepidemiological database derived from the clinical information syste ...[more]

PMID: 27711224

Similar Datasets

Project description:IntroductionChildren admitted to paediatric and neonatal intensive care units may be at high risk from medication errors and preventable adverse drug events.ObjectiveThe objective of this systematic review was to review empirical studies examining the prevalence and nature of medication errors and preventable adverse drug events in paediatric and neonatal intensive care units.Data sourcesSeven electronic databases were searched between January 2000 and March 2019.Study selectionQuantitative studies that examined medication errors/preventable adverse drug events using direct observation, medication chart review, or a mixture of methods in children ??18 years of age admitted to paediatric or neonatal intensive care units were included.Data extractionData on study design, detection method used, rates and types of medication errors/preventable adverse drug events, and medication classes involved were extracted.ResultsThirty-five unique studies were identified for inclusion. In paediatric intensive care units, the median rate of medication errors was 14.6 per 100 medication orders (interquartile range 5.7-48.8%, n?=?3) and between 6.4 and 9.1 per 1000 patient-days (n?=?2). In neonatal intensive care units, medication error rates ranged from 4 to 35.1 per 1000 patient-days (n?=?2) and from 5.5 to 77.9 per 100 medication orders (n?=?2). In both settings, prescribing and medication administration errors were found to be the most common medication errors, with dosing errors the most frequently reported error subtype. Preventable adverse drug event rates were reported in three paediatric intensive care unit studies as 2.3 per 100 patients (n?=?1) and 21-29 per 1000 patient-days (n?=?2). In neonatal intensive care units, preventable adverse drug event rates from three studies were 0.86 per 1000 doses (n?=?1) and 0.47-14.38 per 1000 patient-days (n?=?2). Anti-infective agents were commonly involved with medication errors/preventable adverse drug events in both settings.ConclusionsMedication errors occur frequently in critically ill children admitted to paediatric and neonatal intensive care units and may lead to patient harm. Important targets such as dosing errors and anti-infective medications were identified to guide the development of remedial interventions.

Project description:BackgroundThe Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act subsidizes implementation by hospitals of electronic health records with computerized provider order entry (CPOE), which may reduce patient injuries caused by medication errors (preventable adverse drug events, pADEs). Effects on pADEs have not been rigorously quantified, and effects on medication errors have been variable. The objectives of this analysis were to assess the effectiveness of CPOE at reducing pADEs in hospital-related settings, and examine reasons for heterogeneous effects on medication errors.MethodsArticles were identified using MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, Econlit, web-based databases, and bibliographies of previous systematic reviews (September 2013). Eligible studies compared CPOE with paper-order entry in acute care hospitals, and examined diverse pADEs or medication errors. Studies on children or with limited event-detection methods were excluded. Two investigators extracted data on events and factors potentially associated with effectiveness. We used random effects models to pool data.ResultsSixteen studies addressing medication errors met pooling criteria; six also addressed pADEs. Thirteen studies used pre-post designs. Compared with paper-order entry, CPOE was associated with half as many pADEs (pooled risk ratio (RR)?=?0.47, 95% CI 0.31 to 0.71) and medication errors (RR?=?0.46, 95% CI 0.35 to 0.60). Regarding reasons for heterogeneous effects on medication errors, five intervention factors and two contextual factors were sufficiently reported to support subgroup analyses or meta-regression. Differences between commercial versus homegrown systems, presence and sophistication of clinical decision support, hospital-wide versus limited implementation, and US versus non-US studies were not significant, nor was timing of publication. Higher baseline rates of medication errors predicted greater reductions (P?<?0.001). Other context and implementation variables were seldom reported.ConclusionsIn hospital-related settings, implementing CPOE is associated with a greater than 50% decline in pADEs, although the studies used weak designs. Decreases in medication errors are similar and robust to variations in important aspects of intervention design and context. This suggests that CPOE implementation, as subsidized under the HITECH Act, may benefit public health. More detailed reporting of the context and process of implementation could shed light on factors associated with greater effectiveness.

Project description:BackgroundMedication errors and adverse drug events are universal problems contributing to patient harm but the magnitude of these problems in Africa remains unclear.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to systematically investigate the literature on the extent of medication errors and adverse drug events, and the factors contributing to medication errors in African hospitals.MethodsWe searched PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science and Global Health databases from inception to 31 August, 2017 and hand searched the reference lists of included studies. Original research studies of any design published in English that investigated adverse drug events and/or medication errors in any patient population in the hospital setting in Africa were included. Descriptive statistics including median and interquartile range were presented.ResultsFifty-one studies were included; of these, 33 focused on medication errors, 15 on adverse drug events, and three studies focused on medication errors and adverse drug events. These studies were conducted in nine (of the 54) African countries. In any patient population, the median (interquartile range) percentage of patients reported to have experienced any suspected adverse drug event at hospital admission was 8.4% (4.5-20.1%), while adverse drug events causing admission were reported in 2.8% (0.7-6.4%) of patients but it was reported that a median of 43.5% (20.0-47.0%) of the adverse drug events were deemed preventable. Similarly, the median mortality rate attributed to adverse drug events was reported to be 0.1% (interquartile range 0.0-0.3%). The most commonly reported types of medication errors were prescribing errors, occurring in a median of 57.4% (interquartile range 22.8-72.8%) of all prescriptions and a median of 15.5% (interquartile range 7.5-50.6%) of the prescriptions evaluated had dosing problems. Major contributing factors for medication errors reported in these studies were individual practitioner factors (e.g. fatigue and inadequate knowledge/training) and environmental factors, such as workplace distraction and high workload.ConclusionMedication errors in the African healthcare setting are relatively common, and the impact of adverse drug events is substantial but many are preventable. This review supports the design and implementation of preventative strategies targeting the most likely contributing factors.

Project description:BackgroundIncreasing numbers of older people are receiving support with medicines management from community nursing services (CNSs) to enable them to live in their own homes. Little is known about these people and the support they receive.ObjectivesTo explore the characteristics of older people referred for medicines management support, type of support provided, medication errors and adverse medication events (AMEs).MethodsA retrospective observational study of a random sample of 100 older people referred to a large non-profit CNS for medicines management support over a 3-month period was conducted. Measures were: demographics, referral source, current medical problems, medicines, medication aids, types of medication authorisations used by nurses, frequency of nurse visits and type of support provided, medication errors, AMEs and interdisciplinary teamwork among community nurses, general practitioners and pharmacists.ResultsOlder people (median 80 years) were referred for medicines support most often by hospitals (39 %). Other referrals were from families/carers, case-managers, palliative care services and general practitioners. Multiple health conditions (median 5) and medicines (median 10) were common; 66 % used ≥5 medicines; 48 % used ≥1 high-risk medicines-most commonly opiates, anticoagulants and insulin. Medication aids were frequently used, mostly multi-compartment dose administration aids (47 %). Most people received regular community nurse visits (≥4 per week) to administer medicines or monitor medicine-taking. Only 16 % had a medication administration chart; for other clients nurses used medicine lists or letters from doctors for medication authorisation. Medication errors occurred in 41 % of people and 13 % had ≥1 AME requiring medical consultation or hospitalisation; 9/13 (64 %) AMEs were potentially preventable. There was little evidence of interdisciplinary teamwork or medication review.ConclusionCNS clients had multiple risk-factors for medication misadventure. Deficiencies in medicines management were identified, including low use of medication charts and interdisciplinary medication review. Strategies are needed to improve medicines management in the home-care setting.

Project description:To improve neonatal patient safety through automated detection of medication administration errors (MAEs) in high alert medications including narcotics, vasoactive medication, intravenous fluids, parenteral nutrition, and insulin using the electronic health record (EHR); to evaluate rates of MAEs in neonatal care; and to compare the performance of computerized algorithms to traditional incident reporting for error detection.We developed novel computerized algorithms to identify MAEs within the EHR of all neonatal patients treated in a level four neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in 2011 and 2012. We evaluated the rates and types of MAEs identified by the automated algorithms and compared their performance to incident reporting. Performance was evaluated by physician chart review.In the combined 2011 and 2012 NICU data sets, the automated algorithms identified MAEs at the following rates: fentanyl, 0.4% (4 errors/1005 fentanyl administration records); morphine, 0.3% (11/4009); dobutamine, 0 (0/10); and milrinone, 0.3% (5/1925). We found higher MAE rates for other vasoactive medications including: dopamine, 11.6% (5/43); epinephrine, 10.0% (289/2890); and vasopressin, 12.8% (54/421). Fluid administration error rates were similar: intravenous fluids, 3.2% (273/8567); parenteral nutrition, 3.2% (649/20124); and lipid administration, 1.3% (203/15227). We also found 13 insulin administration errors with a resulting rate of 2.9% (13/456). MAE rates were higher for medications that were adjusted frequently and fluids administered concurrently. The algorithms identified many previously unidentified errors, demonstrating significantly better sensitivity (82% vs. 5%) and precision (70% vs. 50%) than incident reporting for error recognition.Automated detection of medication administration errors through the EHR is feasible and performs better than currently used incident reporting systems. Automated algorithms may be useful for real-time error identification and mitigation.

Project description:Background and objectivesAlthough patients with CKD are commonly hospitalized, little is known about those with frequent hospitalization and/or longer lengths of stay (high inpatient use). The objective of this study was to explore clinical characteristics, patterns of hospital use, and potentially preventable acute care encounters among patients with CKD with at least one hospitalization.Design, setting, participants, & measurementsWe identified all adults with nondialysis CKD (eGFR<60 ml/min per 1.73 m2) in Alberta, Canada between January 1 and December 31, 2009, excluding those with prior kidney failure. Patients with CKD were linked to administrative data to capture clinical characteristics and frequency of hospital encounters, and they were followed until death or end of study (December 31, 2012). Patients with one or more hospital encounters were categorized into three groups: persistent high inpatient use (upper 5% of inpatient use in 2 or more years), episodic high use (upper 5% in 1 year only), or nonhigh use (lower 95% in all years). Within each group, we calculated the proportion of potentially preventable hospitalizations as defined by four CKD-specific ambulatory care sensitive conditions: heart failure, hyperkalemia, volume overload, and malignant hypertension.ResultsDuring a median follow-up of 3 years, 57,007 patients with CKD not on dialysis had 118,671 hospitalizations, of which 1.7% of patients were persistent high users, 12.3% were episodic high users, and 86.0% were nonhigh users of hospital services. Overall, 24,804 (20.9%) CKD-related ambulatory care sensitive condition encounters were observed in the cohort. The persistent and episodic high users combined (14% of the cohort) accounted for almost one half (45.5%) of the total ambulatory care sensitive condition hospitalizations, most of which were attributed to heart failure and hyperkalemia. Risk of hospitalization for any CKD-specific ambulatory care sensitive condition was higher among older patients, higher CKD stage, lower income, registered First Nations status, and those with poor attachment to primary care.ConclusionsMany hospitalizations among patients with CKD and high inpatient use are ambulatory care sensitive condition related, suggesting opportunities to improve outcomes and reduce cost by focusing on better community-based care for this population.

Project description:Rationale: Older adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are at substantially increased risk for medication-related adverse events. Two frequently prescribed classes of drugs that pose a particular risk to this patient group are opioids and benzodiazepines. Research on this topic has yielded conflicting findings.Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine, among older adults with COPD, whether: 1) independent or concurrent use of opioid and benzodiazepine medications was associated with hospitalizations for respiratory events, and 2) this association was exacerbated by the presence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).Methods: We conducted a case-control study of Medicare beneficiaries aged ≥66 years, who were diagnosed with COPD in 2013, using the 5% national Medicare database. Cases (n = 3,232) were defined as patients hospitalized for a primary COPD-related respiratory diagnosis in 2014 and were matched with up to two control subjects (n = 6,247) on index date, age, sex, socioeconomic status, comorbidity, presence of OSA, COPD medication, and COPD complexity.Results: In comparison to the referent (no opioid or benzodiazepine use), opioid use alone (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.73; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.52-1.97), benzodiazepine use alone (aOR, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.21-1.66), and concurrent opioid/ benzodiazepine use (aOR, 2.32; 95% CI, 1.94-2.77) in the 30 days before the event/index date were all associated with an increased risk of hospitalization for a respiratory condition. Risk of hospitalization was higher with concurrent opioid and benzodiazepine use when compared with use of either medication alone. There was no statistically significant interaction between OSA and either of the drugs, alone or in combination. However, the adverse respiratory effects of concurrent opioid and benzodiazepine use were increased in patients with a high degree of COPD complexity. All of the above findings persisted using exposure windows that extended to 60 and 90 days before the event/index date.Conclusions: Among older adults with COPD, use of opioid and benzodiazepine medications alone or in combination were associated with increased adverse respiratory events. The adverse effects of these medications were not exacerbated in patients with COPD-OSA overlap syndrome. However, the adverse impact of dual opioid and benzodiazepine was greater in patients with high-complexity COPD.

Dataset Information

Benzodiazepine Use During Hospitalization: Automated Identification of Potential Medication Errors and Systematic Assessment of Preventable Adverse Events.

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Benzodiazepine Use During Hospitalization: Automated Identification of Potential Medication Errors and Systematic Assessment of Preventable Adverse Events.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets