Erros de prescrição de medicamentos potencialmente perigosos em hospital universitário.

Abstract

Patient safety involves preventing errors in care and the elimination of damage caused to patients by such errors. Among the several types of medicines used for the treatment and prevention of diseases, there are the high alert medications (HAM), are those that have the greatest risk of causing significant harm to patients as a result of failure to use. Adequate care provided to a patient using drugs starts with the prescription. It is known that prescription errors are among the most serious medication errors and now constitute a global public health problem. Based on this background, this study aimed to identify errors in high alert medications prescription to inpatients at the Hospital Universitário Alcides Carneiro (HUAC). We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study with a descriptive approach. Data were collected in the central pharmacy of HUAC, from prescriptions to patients admitted during the period of April / 2014. Of 450 prescriptions analyzed observed the absence of mandatory information, since the age that was absent in 66.4%, stamp and / or signature were omitted and 3.1% in the medical specialty was omitted in most prescriptions (53 , 6%). Of prescription drugs there was omission dosage form (44.5%), route of administration (10.0%) and dose range (8.8%). Were the most legible prescriptions (86.7%) and the type of prescription, was practically the same in writing (39.80%) and typed (40.40%). Of prescription drugs, 61.2% used the Brazilian Common Denomination. The most commonly prescribed in the hospital is the therapeutic class of analgesics (13.5%). Medications classified as high alert were identified in more than half of the prescriptions analyzed, enoxaparin, 19.1% potassium chloride, sodium chloride 20%, tramadol and regular insulin the most prescribed. On average there were two errors in (HAM) by prescription, the omission being the most prevalent (68.3%). It was concluded that the regulations for medical prescriptions were not met, showing the need for improvements in prescribing medications HUAC.