Understanding of the Prescription of High Alert Drugs in Numerical Ratio Format among Nurses and their Calculations for Preparation of the Prescribed Drugs
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Abstract
Objective: To investigate the understanding among nurses of physicians’ orders of high alert drugs in numerical ratio format, factors associated with misunderstandings of such orders, and calculation errors for drug preparation according to prescribed concentrations. Method: Questionnaires on the orders of high alert drugs prescribed in numerical ratio format were sent to 600 nurses practicing in inpatient settings of 15 hospitals in various regions of Thailand during October 2013 to February 2014. Results: 517 nurses (86.2%) completed the questionnaires with ages ranging from 21 to 56 years old with a mean of 34.3+0.7 years. Forty-nine percent, 30% and 21.1% of the subjects worked in internal medicine wards, intensive care units and other wards, respectively. A total of 81.8% understood the meaning of commonly prescribed drug in numerical ratio format in all 4 questions in the questionnaires. Factor related with misunderstanding in at least one questions was patient care unit. The nurses working in medicine wards (adjusted OR 3.19, p=0.001) or other wards (adjusted OR 4.86, p < 0.001) demonstrated more misunderstanding than those working in intensive care units did. Only 14.3% of participants could prepare drugs with the correct concentrations as prescribed. The major source of calculation error was no deduction of drug volume from the volume of solvent. Conclusion: High alert drugs prescribed in numerical ratio format may cause misunderstanding and calculation errors. Drug prescribing should be in a clear unit in order to prevent medication errors leading to harm in patients.
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ผลการวิจัยและความคิดเห็นที่ปรากฏในบทความถือเป็นความคิดเห็นและอยู่ในความรับผิดชอบของผู้นิพนธ์ มิใช่ความเห็นหรือความรับผิดชอบของกองบรรณาธิการ หรือคณะเภสัชศาสตร์ มหาวิทยาลัยสงขลานครินทร์ ทั้งนี้ไม่รวมความผิดพลาดอันเกิดจากการพิมพ์ บทความที่ได้รับการเผยแพร่โดยวารสารเภสัชกรรมไทยถือเป็นสิทธิ์ของวารสารฯ
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