Acquired error in using antibiotic for surgery patients in Iraqi Hospitals

Abstract EN

The use of antibiotics (AB) in surgery focused in either treating established infection or to prevent suspected post-operative infection.

Inappropriate use of antibiotic for treatment of patients with common infections is a major problem worldwide, with great implications with regards to cost of treatment and development of resistance to the antimicrobial agent.

Moreover, antibiotics may often be dispensed without a clear clinical indication.

This study was conducted to estimate the medication errors in using antibiotic for surgery patients which may effect their wound healing.

A 260 patients with clean-contaminated and contaminated surgery were included from two teaching hospitals, 160 patient from Medical city hospital and 100 from Al-kadhimiya hospital, 86 % were female and 32 % were male, their age range was 40 + / - 15.

The study shows that there are medication errors related to different causes: firstly, medical team error which include the nurse (70.9 %) and the physician which include 1) delay in patient follow up after operation (5.9 %) , 2) changing the AB without doing culture and sensitivity test (48.8 %), and incomplete prescription order (13.1 %).

second: ordering error which include : 1) the absent of original source of AB (44.5 %), 2) Error in availability of the chosen AB (74.8 %), and third: error related to the patient itself include 1) socioeconomic situation (14.5 %), 2) educational state (54.3%), finally error related to increase cost in dispensing more than one AB needed (80.1%), although the healing was (63.6 %), delay in response (25 %) and complicated wound infection (5 %), significant results were arrange nurse error and poor drug availability.

In conclusion : medication errors are still common problem in our hospitals, which are mostly related to medical team and the pharmacists should give more effort to avoid these errors.