Zhang Qingxia, Li Siyan, Bai Xiangrong, Wang Zimin, Yan Suying, Wang Yuqin, Medication Safety Panel in China Core Group of International Network for the Rational Use of Drugs, Chinese Pharmacological Society Professional Committee of Drug?induced Diseases, Adverse Drug Reactions Journal Agency
In 2023, a total of 27 742 cases of medication error (ME) from 439 hospitals in 27 pro‑vincial administrative regions were collected in the National Monitoring Network for Clinical Safe Medica‑tion. Among them, 282 (1.02%) were classified as grade A, 22 452 (80.93%) as grade B, 4 239 (15.28%) asgrade C, 499 (1.80%) as grade D, 141 (0.51%) as grade E, 127 (0.46%) as grade F, 1 (<0.01%) as grade G,and 1 (<0.01%) as grade I; no MEs of grade H occurred. Among the 27 460 patients involved in MEs ofgrade B to I, 15 131 (55.10%) were male and 12 329 (44.23%) were female; their ages were from 1 day to103 years; 3 198 (11.65%) were children (<18 years old), 12 576 (45.80%) were young and middle‑agedadults (≥18 to <60 years old), and 11 686 (42.56%) were elderly (≥60 years old). The top 3 contents of MEwere wrong drug class (5 880 cases, 20.97%), wrong dosage (4 668 cases, 16.65%), and wrong administration·390·药物不良反应杂志 2024 年7月第 26 卷第7期 ADRJ,July 2024, Vol. 26, No. 7frequency (3 184 cases, 11.35%). A total of 270 patients were involved in severe MEs (grade E‑I), including140 (51.85%) males and 130 (48.15%) females, aged from 52 days to 94 years, of which 31 (11.48%) werechildren, 91 (33.70%) were young and middle‑aged adults, and 148 (54.82%) were elderly. The top 3 drugsinvolved were cefoperazone sodium and sulbactam sodium, metformin, and estazolam. One fatal ME wascaused by mistakenly orally taking Fufang Jingjie for fumigation and washing. Among the 27 460 gradeB‑I MEs, 19 655 (71.58%) were triggered by physicians, 5 688 (20.71%) by pharmacists, and few by nurses,patients and their family members, etc. These MEs mainly occurred in clinics (10 537 cases, 38.37%), inhospital wards (8 187 cases, 29.81%), and in pharmacies (6 470 cases, 23.56%). But among the 270 severeMEs, 121 (44.81%) occurred in the patient′s home. The top 3 persons who discovered the ME were phar‑macists (20 693 cases, 74.46%), patients and their family members (3 240 cases, 11.66%), and physicians(2 214 cases, 7.97%). The top 3 factors causing ME were lack of related pharmacologic knowledge (9 382cases, 28.3%), tiredness (5 974 cases, 18.05%), and insufficient training of medical workers (3 831 cases,11.58%). In view of MEs with high incidence or more severe in 2023, relevant risks should be paid attentionto, including misusing external drugs for internal use, ingestion of drug packaging by mistake, wrong doseconversion in children, ME in special dosing frequency, too fast infusion speed of enteral nutrition prepara‑tions and irritant intravenous preparations, interaction between montmorillonite powder and other drugs,hypernatremia caused by fosfomycin sodium, etc. In addition, strengthening the management of drug varietieswith frequent severe MEs and fatal MEs, as well as the popular science and safe drug use education forpatients, can help ensure the medication safety of patients.