Variables not found to contribute towards or prevent medication administration errors (MAEs)
| Variable | Error(n = 124)* | No error(n = 563)* | Odds ratio(95% CI) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| *Nominal data expressed as number (%); continuous data expressed as median (25–75th percentile). | ||||
| †χ2 test. | ||||
| ‡Fisher’s exact test. | ||||
| §Mann-Whitney U test. | ||||
| Male | 58 (46.78) | 294 (52.22) | 0.80 (0.54 to 1.19) | 0.272† |
| Diabetes | 22 (17.74) | 67 (11.90) | 1.60 (0.94 to 2.70) | 0.080† |
| Hypertension | 30 (24.19) | 131 (23.27) | 1.05 (0.67 to 1.66) | 0.826† |
| Congestive heart failure | 4 (3.23) | 11 (1.95) | 1.67 (0.52 to 5.34) | 0.328‡ |
| Renal impairment | 4 (3.23) | 21 (3.78) | 0.86 (0.29 to 2.55) | 0.806‡ |
| Hepatic impairment | 15 (12.10) | 91 (16.16) | 0.71 (0.40 to 1.28) | 0.256† |
| Bowel obstruction | 9 (7.26) | 27 (4.80) | 1.55 (0.71 to 3.39) | 0.265† |
| Burette | 78 (62.90) | 359 (63.77) | 0.96 (0.64 to 1.44) | 0.857† |
| Alternating bags of fluid | 26 (20.97) | 134 (23.80) | 0.85 (0.53 to 1.36) | 0.499† |
| Potassium-containing IV fluid | 30 (24.19) | 153 (27.18) | 0.86 (0.54 to 1.34) | 0.496† |
| Additive | 6 (4.84) | 54 (9.59) | 0.48 (0.20 to 1.14) | 0.090† |
| Parenteral nutrition | 1 (0.81) | 19 (3.37) | 0.23 (0.03 to 1.76) | 0.149‡ |
| Separate drug infusions | 22 (17.74) | 92 (16.34) | 0.96 (0.63 to 1.47) | 0.704† |
| IV pain relief | 21 (16.94) | 123 (21.85) | 0.73 (0.44 to 1.21) | 0.224† |
| Monday and Friday | 58 (46.78) | 213 (37.83) | 1.44 (0.98 to 2.14) | 0.065† |
| Day shift (9:00 to 16:00 hours) | 58 (46.77) | 302 (53.64) | 1.32 (0.89 to 1.94) | 0.166† |
| No of co-morbidities | 2 (1–3) | 2 (0–3) | 1.01 (0.92 to 1.11) | 0.943§ |
| No of IV lines | 1 (1–2) | 1 (1–2) | 1.31 (0.94 to 1.83) | 0.142§ |
| No of doses given per day | 12 (9–18) | 13 (9–19) | 1.02 (0.99 to 1.05) | 0.094§ |
| No of regular IV medications | 2 (1–3) | 2 (1–3) | 1.15 (0.99 to 1.35) | 0.107§ |
| No of regular non-IV medications | 4 (1–5) | 4 (2–6) | 1.04 (0.98 to 1.11) | 0.235§ |
| Total no of regular medications(oral + IV + topical) | 5 (3–8) | 6 (4–9) | 1.06 (1.00 to 1.12) | 0.051§ |
| Level of experience of nurse | 18.3 (18.0–20.0) | 18.6 (18.0–20.0) | 1.05 (0.95 to 1.17) | 0.248§ |
| Nurse to patient ratio | 0.25 (0.21–0.27) | 0.25 (0.21–0.29) | 3.08 (0.44 to 21.7) | 0.504§ |
| Occupancy of bed bay | 1 (1–1) | 1 (1–1) | 0.76 (0.18 to 3.28) | 0.707§ |