Medication category | Medication errors with minimal potential for harm | Near misses | ||||
n | Percentage of events* | Percentage of Rx† | n | Percentage of events* | Percentage of Rx† | |
Penicillin or derivative | 501 | 42 | 72 | 91 | 20 | 13 |
Bronchodilators, inhaled | 59 | 5 | 30 | 45 | 10 | 23 |
Macrolides | 81 | 7 | 77 | 34 | 7 | 32 |
Steroids, topical | 49 | 4 | 47 | 26 | 6 | 25 |
Ophthalmic preparations | 87 | 7 | 79 | 42 | 9 | 38 |
Ibuprofen | 38 | 3 | 46 | 24 | 5 | 29 |
Steroids, inhaled | 29 | 2 | 36 | 25 | 5 | 31 |
Antifungal, topical | 42 | 3 | 57 | 13 | 3 | 18 |
Antihistamine | 36 | 3 | 42 | 16 | 3 | 19 |
Steroids, oral | 35 | 3 | 64 | 22 | 5 | 40 |
Emollients | 31 | 3 | 148 | 1 | 0.22 | 5 |
H2 blocker | – | – | 1 | 0.55 | 6 | |
Topical | 24 | 2 | 43 | 8 | 2 | 14 |
Leucotriene receptors | 23 | 2 | 88 | 3 | 0.65 | 12 |
Cephalosporins | 13 | 1 | 21 | 7 | 5 | 12 |
Acetaminophen | 15 | 1 | 38 | 18 | 4 | 45 |
Otit prep | 13 | 1 | 43 | 7 | 5 | 23 |
Gi meds | 12 | 1 | 300 | – | – | – |
Dermatologicals | 12 | 1 | 32 | 8 | 2 | 21 |
Antifungal oral | 10 | 1 | 24 | 13 | 3 | 31 |
Vitamins | 10 | 1 | 40 | 7 | 2 | 28 |
Antimalarial | 8 | 1 | 160 | |||
Topical anaesthetic | 7 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0.43 | 7 |
Bronchodilator oral | 1 | 0.08 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 42 |
Antituberculosis | 5 | 0.41 | 71 | 4 | 0.86 | 67 |
Antitussive | – | – | – | 4 | 0.86 | 15 |
Decongestant | 5 | 0.41 | 71 | 4 | 0.86 | 57 |
Antiviral | – | – | – | 1 | 0.22 | 25 |
Laxative | 5 | 0.41 | 25 | 4 | 0.86 | 20 |
Analgesic | – | – | 6 | 1 | 67 | |
Other meds | 24 | 2 | 126 | 5 | 1 | 26 |
Proton pump inhibitor | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Stimulants | 6 | 0.50 | 29 | 4 | 0.86 | 19 |
Sulfa | 4 | 0.33 | 33 | 2 | 0.43 | 15 |
Scabicides | 1 | 0.08 | 14 | 3 | 0.65 | 9 |
Antihelminitics | 2 | 0.17 | 50 | 2 | 0.43 | 50 |
Epinehprine | 5 | 0.41 | 38 | 2 | 0.43 | 15 |
β blocker | – | – | – | 1 | 0.22 | 100 |
Cerumenolytic | – | – | – | 1 | 0.22 | 33 |
Muscle relaxant | – | – | – | 1 | 0.22 | 50 |
Normal saline | 3 | 0.25 | 11 | |||
Antitussive | 2 | 0.17 | 7 | |||
Thyroid agent | 2 | 0.17 | 200 | |||
Immunologicals, topical | 2 | 0.07 | 67 | |||
Nasal spray | 1 | 0.08 | 7 | |||
Iron | 1 | 0.08 | 20 | |||
Haemostatic | 1 | 0.08 | 50 | |||
Topical oestrogen cream | 2 | 0.43 | 22 |
↵* Proportion of incidents attributable to a given drug category. For example, penicillin or derivative prescriptions caused 20% of near misses.
↵† Proportion of prescriptions for a given drug category that resulted in an incident. For example, 13% of penicillin or derivative prescriptions resulted in a near miss.