Risk factors for pharmaceutical errors by nurses in intensive care units

Introduction: Errors in medication administration are the most common types of nursing errors. Aim: In the present study, we investigated socio-demographic, clinical, administrative and organizational risk factors of nursing errors in ICU. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted. The sample consisted of 176 qualified nurses working in 11 ICU hospitals of Attica. The data collection was performed using an anonymous structured questionnaire. Statistical tests was perfomed using the criterio of heterogenity X2 Pirson’s and Spearman’s correlation coefficient. Statistical analysis was performed with software SPSS 17. Results: Ninety-two percent of nurses have done pharmaceutical errors, often with the wrong dose (34.7%) and the wrong time of administration (32.4%). Age was correlated negatively with the frequency of hospital errors (r=-0.14, p=0.059) and all the males reported that they have made at least one error in the administration of medicines (p<0.001). An important factor for the occurrence of errors was the distraction of nurses (76.7%). Conclusions: The nursing errors are a reality for Greek hospitals with major causative factors of age and sex.