A randomised trial to evaluate prescribing accuracy when using the Paediatric Analgesia Wheel

Abstract

The Paediatric Analgesia Wheel provides a time-efficient method of prescribing commonly used analgesic and anti-emetic drugs to children and results in improved accuracy when compared with using the BNFC.

Telemedicine Consultations and Medication Errors in Rural Emergency Departments

“…2,5,13 Errors in dosing were the most common type, consistent with previous studies involving children in other acute care settings. [3][4][5][6]8,11,13 These studies attributed dosing errors in children to the chaotic environment in EDs and the lack of sufficient provider training and knowledge in calculating medication doses for children. [3][4][5][6]8,11,13 Our finding of lower physician-related ED medication errors among patients who received telemedicine consultations could be attributed to the specialized training and higher level of experience among the consulting physicians in treating children, which is consistent with other studies evaluating the impact of physician training and experience on patient outcomes.…”

“…[3][4][5][6]8,11,13 These studies attributed dosing errors in children to the chaotic environment in EDs and the lack of sufficient provider training and knowledge in calculating medication doses for children. [3][4][5][6]8,11,13 Our finding of lower physician-related ED medication errors among patients who received telemedicine consultations could be attributed to the specialized training and higher level of experience among the consulting physicians in treating children, which is consistent with other studies evaluating the impact of physician training and experience on patient outcomes. 8,15,[30][31][32][33] Kozer et al, 8 who examined medication errors experienced by children in an ED, found that trainees who do not have sufficient experience in treating children are more likely to commit prescribing errors than attending physicians.…”

“…7,8 Particularly among children, the risk of medication errors is magnified because of weight-based drug dosing and limited experience among many health care professionals in pediatric prescribing and pharmacotherapy. 2,[8][9][10][11] Several studies have identified physician prescribing as the most common source of medication errors among children and in EDs. 2,6,9,[12][13][14] In previous work, we reported high frequencies of medication errors among children treated in rural EDs.…”

“…2,8,16 In addition, infrastructural factors can also contribute to the increased risk of medication errors in rural EDs, such as the lack of electronic medical record systems, computerized physician order entry, medication bar coding, or around-the-clock pharmacist coverage. 3,8,11 Telemedicine is increasingly used to address some of these shortcomings by providing pediatric specialty consultations to children presenting to rural and underserved EDs as an alternative to telephone consultations. [17][18][19] Specifically, telemedicine has the potential to prevent medication errors resulting from the lack of access to experienced staff and pediatric specialty expertise.…”

Ateş yakınması ile çocuk acile başvuran hastalarda uygunsuz dozda ateş düşürücü kullanma sıklığının ve nedenlerinin belirlenmesi

“…As also recommended in previous studies, the results of our study support the recommendation that families should be informed about fever during hospital visits. However, studies on how this information should be given are continuing (10)(11)(12). In a study which tried to increase the accuracy rates of dosing information, it was shown that use of pictographic dose recommendation in addition to a written informing about use of antipyretics could prevent misdosing to a large extent, but not completely.…”