Introduction:

Medication error is all deviation in the process of using medications that are administered to the patient; the medication errors are a frequent cause of adverse events in the patient.

Objective:

To identify the relationship of pharmacotherapeutic monitoring in the detection of medication errors with the increase in the number of interventions for the prevention of adverse events in patients of the Intensive Care Unit.

Material and method:

The medication error rate was determined in order to obtain the baseline value (period 1), then a second period (period 2) was evaluated in which the pharmacotherapeutic follow-up was increased with the intentional search for medication errors. The identification, classification and registration were carried out according to the NCC MERP taxonomy with the help of the pharmacotherapeutic follow-up to each of the patients.

Results:

In period 1, a total of 107 medication errors were identified, representing an error rate of 514.42 per 1,000 days/patient, with a rate of interventions of 52.88 per 1,000 days/patient. For period 2 a rate of 950.76 per 1,000 days/patient was found, with a rate of interventions of 132.58 per 1,000 days/patient. In either period, an error was identified that caused damage in the patients.

Conclusions:

The intentional search for medication errors and pharmaceutical interventions favor the safety in the use of the drugs helping to prevent the adverse events associated with its use in patients of the intensive care unit.

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