Failure to weigh patients in hospital: a medication safety risk.
Often patients are not weighed in hospital. Failure to weigh patients prescribed renally excreted drugs may correlate to adverse drug events. We carried out a cross-sectional study of patients prescribed common renally excreted drugs (heparin, enoxaparin and gentamicin), admitted to two wards at Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney over 3 months. Of all patients surveyed, 28% (22/78) in the orthopaedic ward and 22% (27/124) in the medical ward were weighed. Among those prescribed therapeutic doses of the study drugs, 25% (3/12) in the orthopaedic ward and 27% (7/26) in the medical ward were weighed. Patients prescribed therapeutic anticoagulation who were not weighed experienced more haemorrhagic complications than patients who were weighed (P = 0.03). Patients prescribed renally excreted drugs in hospital are frequently not weighed. This is associated with reduced medication safety.
Hilmer
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Departments of Clinical Pharmacology, and Aged Care and Rehabilitation, Royal North Shore Hospital, and Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. shilmer@med.usyd.edu.au
Rangiah
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C
Bajorek
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BV
Shenfield
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GM
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000592:standards*; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions; D005260:Female; D006748:Hospital Departments / Q000592:standards*; D006761:Hospitals / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008508:Medication Errors / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008510:Medication Systems, Hospital / Q000592:standards; D008875:Middle Aged; D012449:Safety