Medication Administration Errors in Children: Review

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the most common medication administration errors in children, according to Brazilian literature review. Material and methods: This literature review was conducted by applying analytical descriptive method with qualitative approach. A total of eleven articles from Bireme and Scielo databases and other scientific publications were selected, using the following descriptors: pediatrics, nursing, medication errors. Results: We found 183 articles, however only eleven were included in this study. After reading and processing of articles, we noticed that the most common errors in medication administration occur in the prescribing, dispensing, dose omission, wrong time, wrong dose preparation, due to incorrect administrationtechniques, etc. The medication errors are related to the medication system which includes the time of prescription until the medication is administered. Concerning prevention of medical errors, the literature suggests among other measures the periodic training for all staff, risk management and others. Conclusion: We need future researches, especially field research, so that health institutions may identify particular errors of their own system and able to develop their own measures to minimize them according to their reality.