Mitchell S. Buckley

Direct observation approach for detecting medication errors and adverse drug events in a pediatric intensive care unit.

Objective: To determine the incidence, type, and stage of occurrence of medication errors and potential and actual adverse drug events (ADEs) in a pediatric intensive care unit (ICU) using trained observers. The preventability and severity of ADEs and the system failures leading to medication error occurrence were also investigated. Design: Prospective, direct observation study. Setting: A 16-bed pediatric medical/surgical ICU at a tertiary care academic medical center. Patients: One enrolled nurse caring for at least one pediatric ICU patient age <18 yrs was randomly chosen during each observation period. Interventions: Observers would intervene only in the event that the medication error would cause substantial patient harm or discomfort. Measurements and Main Results: Medication errors and potential and actual ADEs were identified throughout the entire medication use process. The 26 12-hr observation periods included 357 reviewed written orders and 263 observed doses. The study observers identified 58 incidents, which were subsequently classified by the evaluators according to clinical importance, severity, and preventability. Fifty-two of these incidents were considered medication errors; six incidents were determined to be nonpreventable ADEs. Of the 52 medication errors, 42 (81%) were considered clinically important. Potential ADEs comprised 35 (83%) of these important medication errors; the other seven (17%) were classified as actual, preventable ADEs. Overall, the actual and potential ADE rate occurred at 3.6 events and 9.8 events per 100 orders, respectively. Conclusions: Our medication error rate was similar to that of previous pediatric ICU studies that used the direct observation method for reporting but higher than the rates in previous studies using other detection techniques such as voluntary incident reporting. Periodic direct observation and other ongoing data collection methods such as voluntary incident reporting have the potential to be complementary approaches to medication error and ADE detection.

Electrolyte disturbances associated with commonly prescribed medications in the intensive care unit.

Electrolyte imbalances are common in critically ill patients. Although multiple disease states typically encountered in the intensive care unit may be responsible for the development of electrolyte disorders, medications may contribute to these disturbances as well. Medications can interfere with the absorption of electrolytes, alter hormonal responses affecting homeostasis, as well as directly impact organ function responsible for maintaining electrolyte balance. The focus on this review is to identify commonly prescribed medications in the intensive care unit and potential electrolyte disturbances that may occur as a result of their use. This review will also discuss the postulated mechanisms associated with these drug-induced disorders. The specific drug-induced electrolyte disorders discussed in this review involve abnormalities in sodium, potassium, calcium, phosphate, and magnesium. Clinicians encountering electrolyte disturbances should be vigilant in monitoring the patients medications as a potential etiology. Insight into these drug-induced disorders should allow the clinician to provide optimal medical management for the critically ill patient, thus improving overall healthcare outcomes.

A critical evaluation of clinical decision support for the detection of drug–drug interactions

Introduction: Incorporation of clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) into computerized physician order entry assists prescribers with medication dosing, identification of duplicate therapies, drug-allergy alerts and drug–drug interactions (DDIs). The generation of DDI alerts is one aspect of CDSS that may improve patient safety and reduce adverse drug events. Areas covered: Currents issues with the generation of DDI alerts, such as alert fatigue, unclear clinical significance and database inconsistencies are a few of the problems that have been identified with DDI alerting. Research has shown that DDI alerting may be improved through the tiering of alerts, generation of patient-specific alert and directing some alerts to clinicians other than physicians. More research in this area, such as how to decrease the variability of database rating systems, improve the identification of clinically significant alerts and increase the patient specificity of the generated DDI alerts, should be conducted. Expert opinion: DDI knowledgebases need to take into account more patient-specific information. Strategies to avoid alert fatigue, such as DDI tiering and reducing signal:noise ratios, are important areas for future study. End-user participation and clinician feedback should be incorporated in the development of DDI knowledgebases to increase alert compliance.

Impact of a Clinical Pharmacy Admission Medication Reconciliation Program on Medication Errors in “High-Risk” Patients

Background: Medication errors are common upon hospital admission. Clinical pharmacist involvement in medication reconciliation is effective in identifying and rectifying medication errors. However, data is lacking on the economic impact, time requirements, and severity of errors resolved by clinical pharmacists. Objective: To determine the incidence of unintended admission medication discrepancies resolved by clinical pharmacists. Secondary objectives were to determine the type of discrepancies, potential severity, proximal cause, and economic impact of this clinical pharmacy program. Methods: This was a single-center, prospective, observational study conducted at a major teaching medical institution. Following institutional review board approval, data collection was conducted over a 4-week period (August 22, 2011, to September 16, 2011). Descriptive statistical methods were performed for all data analyses. Results: A total of 517 patients involving 5006 medications were included in this study. More than 25% (n = 132) of patients had at least 1 error associated with a medication ordered on hospital admission. Pharmacists resolved a total of 467 admission medication errors (3.5 ± 2.3 errors/patient). The most common type of medication error resolved was medication omission (79.6%). In regard to severity, 46% of medication errors were considered significant or serious. Overall, the mean total time was 44.4 ± 21.8 minutes per medication reconciliation. This clinical pharmacy program was estimated to carry a net present value of

A Review of Inhaled Nitric Oxide and Aerosolized Epoprostenol in Acute Lung Injury or Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

5.7 million over 5 years. Conclusion: Clinical pharmacist involvement within a multidisciplinary health care team during the admission medication reconciliation process demonstrated a significant improvement in patient safety and an economic benefit.

Amiodarone Prophylaxis for Atrial Fibrillation After Cardiac Surgery: Meta-Analysis of Dose Response and Timing of Initiation

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and acute lung injury (ALI) are conditions associated with an estimated mortality of 40–50%. The use of inhaled vasodilators can help to improve oxygenation without hemodynamic effects. This article reviews relevant studies addressing the safety and efficacy of inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) and aerosolized epoprostenol (aEPO) in the treatment of life‐threatening hypoxemia associated with ARDS and ALI. In addition, the article also provides a practicable guide to the clinical application of these therapies. Nine prospective randomized controlled trials were included for iNO reporting on changes in oxygenation or clinical outcomes. Seven reports of aEPO were examined for changes in oxygenation. Based on currently available data, the use of either iNO or aEPO is safe to use in patients with ALI or ARDS to transiently improve oxygenation. No differences have been observed in survival, ventilator‐free days, or attenuation in disease severity. Further studies with consistent end points using standard delivery devices and standard modes of mechanical ventilation are needed to determine the overall benefit with iNO or aEPO.

Nebulized Milrinone Use in a Pulmonary Hypertensive Crisis

Study Objective. To investigate a possible dose‐response relationship between amiodarone and reduction in incidence of postoperative atrial fibrillation, and to determine whether pre‐ or postoperative initiation of amiodarone is superior.

The cost of opioid-related adverse drug events

Significant advances have been achieved over the past few decades regarding comprehension of the pathogenesis of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The development of new agents and use of existing drug therapies have targeted the underlying abnormalities and pathways leading to progression of PAH. Milrinone, a phosphodiesterase inhibitor, remains a therapeutic option. Unfortunately, intravenous administration of the drug in patients with PAH may be limited by systemic hypotension, especially in those already receiving prostanoid treatment. We describe a 42‐year‐old woman with acute decompensated idiopathic PAH who was given nebulized milrinone as a novel adjunctive therapy. She was acutely treated with intravenous treprostinil 2 ng/kg/minute and inhaled nitric oxide 20 ppm. However, increasing the treprostinil infusion rate or adding other therapies such as intravenous milrinone for acute symptomatic relief was limited by her hemodynamic instability, which required treatment with dobutamine, vasopressin, and epinephrine. Nebulized milrinone was added as salvage therapy for her acute PAH crisis. After 8 days of therapy, the patients PAH symptoms improved without compromising her mean arterial pressure and heart rate. Nebulized milrinone in addition to inhaled nitric oxide and low‐dose intravenous treprostinil may have played a major role in the acute management of her PAH crisis. Further studies are needed to assess the role of nebulized milrinone in patients with PAH.

An evidence based systematic review of remifentanil associated opioid-induced hyperalgesia.

ABSTRACT Opioids are the cornerstone of pain management; however, their use is associated with a variety of adverse drug events (ADEs) ranging from nausea and vomiting to urinary retention and respiratory depression. The purpose of this review is to describe the frequency and cost associated with different types of opioid-related ADEs to better understand their economic impact. A search of studies published in journals from 1946 to December, 2013, was conducted using MEDLINE and EMBASE. A total of 20 articles were reviewed. Data reflect a substantial economic burden of opioid-related ADEs resulting in high hospital costs, prolonged hospital stays, and substantial health care resource usage. Nausea, vomiting, and constipation are frequent and increased costs occur in all types of pain (surgical, nonsurgical, cancer, noncancer) in both inpatients and outpatients. Given the large economic burden of opioid-related ADEs, prevention rather than treatment may be the most effective strategy.

Interpatient Variability in Dexmedetomidine Response: A Survey of the Literature

Introduction: Therapeutic opioid use continues to grow, with greater than a fivefold increase in usage of fentanyl-based products over a 10-year period. Opioids are known for their side-effect profile, including bradycardia and respiratory depression; questions remain, however, regarding lesser known side effects such as opioid-induced hyperalgesia (OIH). Areas covered: A systematic review of published literature addressing remifentanil OIH in the surgical setting was completed. A search was conducted of PubMed, Embase and Ovid from 1946 until June 2013. Inclusion criteria consisted of age ≥ 18 years, humans, full-text articles and English language. A total of 35 unique articles were included. Sixteen articles reported outcomes that supported remifentanil OIH and 6 that refuted and 22 were focused on prevention. Expert opinion: There is conflicting evidence regarding the existence of remifentanil OIH. Outcomes evaluating measures of hyperalgesia frequently conclude that remifentanil OIH exists, while those evaluating opioid consumption do not. Therefore, remifentanil does induce a degree of hyperalgesia, but we do not believe that it reaches a level of clinical significance that requires prevention. If a significant concern for the development of remifentanil OIH is suspected, we suggest using the least possible effective dose of remifentanil as the primary prevention strategy.