Impact of preoperative pharmaceutical care consultation on medication errors in surgical patients: a comprehensive analysis

OBJECTIVE

Assessing the impact of introducing preoperative pharmaceutical care consultations by analyzing the severity of prevented medication errors (MEs) and their potential effects on the surgical process.

METHODS

Preoperative pharmaceutical care consultation was implemented in our hospital to assess the preoperative medication management of surgical patients between the pre-anesthesia consultation and the day of surgery. Pharmacists evaluated the appropriateness of medication management based on a consensus multidisciplinary institutional protocol. All errors identified between 2016 and 2020 were analyzed, and their severity and potential impact on surgery were standardized. A list of therapeutic groups was created to prioritize patients for consultations.

RESULTS

During the study period, 3,105 patients attended the consultations and 1,179 MEs were prevented. According to severity, 30.6% of MEs were classified as category E and 26.2% as D. The Number Needed to Treat to prevent a category E or higher ME (indicating potential harm to patients) was 5 patients. About 14.84% of MEs belonged to the prioritized drug groups. One hundred and thirteen errors would have resulted in a surgery delay of more than 24 h, and 175 errors were classified as G-H (irreversible damage).

CONCLUSIONS

This study highlights the effectiveness of pharmaceutical care consultations in preventing MEs and improving surgical outcomes.

Brief report: cross-validation of the Injury Behavior Checklist in a school-age sample

Examined descriptive characteristics, internal validity, and convergent validity of the Injury Behavior Checklist (IBC) in a sample of 7- to 10-year-old children. Although the IBC was originally designed for use with preschool children, results of the present study showed that it has acceptable psychometric qualities for use with children as old as 9 years. The IBC shows promise as an easily administered instrument for research on psychological and behavioral mechanisms of childhood injury, as well as for individual screening for injury liability.

Childhood risk taking and injury: self-report and informant measures

Examined several measures of children's physical risk taking and sensation seeking. These variables were targeted as potential predictors of unintentional injury, which is the leading cause of death in children. 83 children between 6 and 9 years of age completed self-report risk-taking and sensation-seeking scales, and a peer nomination measure of each classmate's risk taking. Teachers rated children on a risk-taking scale. Parents completed the Injury Behavior Checklist of risky behaviors, and also indicated their child's injury history. Virtually all measures were positively and significantly intercorrelated, indicating that reports of children's physical risk-taking behavior were consistent and were indicative of parent-reported injury frequency.