Epidemiological profile of medication errors in Morocco

Abstract

Objective: The present study aims to describe the epidemiological profile of medication errors in Morocco. Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of drug errors reported via the telephone response to the toxicological information unit of the Anti-Poison and Pharmacovigilance Center of Morocco during the period from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2017. The Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) is used in order to determine the correlations between the different variables studied. Results: During the study period, 729 medication errors were received through the telephone response by the Poison Control Center of Morocco. The results showed that the average age of the patients was 29.95 ± 22.15 years. Female sex accounted for 51.3% of cases. Medication errors occured in children aged 5 to 14 years with 11.2% of cases. They occured mainly during the administration stage in 67.7% of cases. The dose error was the type of 38% of the reported events. Three cases of death were reported with a fatality rate of 0.4%. The MCA showed two largely opposed groups of patients. Conclusion: Properly and appropriately used, medications can improve the quality of life of patients. In contrast, drug errors can cause very considerable damage, sometimes even resulting in the death of the patient. For this, future research and awareness campaigns are needed to put in place effective prevention strategies that can reduce the risk of errors.