Abstract

THE EFFECT OF EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTION IN REDUCING MEDICATION ERRORS IN NEONATAL AND PEDIATRIC CARE UNITS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS

Arin Natania S.* and Sam Johnson Udaya Chander J.

ABSTRACT

Medication errors are a major but frequently preventable cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to assess the efficacy of the reduction of neonatal medication errors by educational intervention. A systematic review and meta-analysis of all comparative and non-comparative research, published in any language, identified from PubMed and EMBASE searches and testing of the reference list, was carried out. Eligible studies were those evaluating the effects of educational interventions in hospital settings aimed at minimizing medication errors in neonates. 33 studies for Systematic Reviews and 23 studies for Meta-Analysis were chosen for final analysis. From the articles reported in the studies selected between 2001-2019, Sample sizes ranged from 50 to 12026 for different papers with Total Number of Events- Intervention (3596), No Intervention (12180) with Total Sample Sizes- Intervention (41818), No Intervention (46408). In all the trials, a pre-post interventional design with prospective and retrospective designs was used. 29 studies have reported a substantial decline in medication errors with Median% error reduction range= 74.07% [0-99.16]. For meta-analysis, the following RR results were obtained: RR = 0.33 (95 % CI = 0.32, 0.34), Odds Ratio = 0.26 (95% CI= 0.25, 0.28). Heterogeneity: Q=7.495, τ2 = 0.062, χ2 = 4663.51 (P<0.0001), df = 22, I2 = 0%. Overall Impact Test: Z = -68.30 (P<0.00001), P = < 0.05. Available evidence suggests aspects of modes of education can aid in reducing medication errors.

Keywords: Medication Errors, Education, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Newborn Infant, Critical Care.