Kids in ER face 1 in 10 chance of medical error

A report published in the journal Pediatrics has revealed that one in every 10 children treated in the emergency room may be the victim of a medical error. The study showed that 10% of children going to the ER either get the wrong dose of medicine or are given drugs at an incorrect frequency.

Dr. Eran Kozer of the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and colleagues reviewed the medical records of 1,532 children treated in the emergency room of a pediatric hospital, and evaluated each one separately to determine whether a medication error had occurred. They gave each error a numerical 'severity score.'

"Prescribing errors were identified in 10.1% of the charts," they found. The report also noted that between 44,000 and 98,000 people die each year in the U.S. as a result of medical errors -- and said that prescribing errors occur most frequently in pediatric and emergency departments.

Children seen between 4:00 and 8:00 a.m. , children with severe disease, and those treated on weekends were 1.5-2.5 times more likely to experience a medication prescribing error. Errors were also more likely when a trainee doctor had ordered the medication.

The researchers concluded: "Medication errors are a common cause of iatrogenic morbidity and mortality." In other words, people often die because doctors give them the wrong drugs, and children are often the victim of these errors. "The most common types of prescribing errors were dosing errors, followed by drugs given with incorrect frequency," they added.

Drugs most commonly involved in prescribing errors included acetaminophen, antibiotics, asthma medications and antihistamines.

SOURCE: "Variables Associated With Medication Errors in Pediatric Emergency Medicine," Pediatrics, Oct. 4, 2002 .