This study sought to identify the physical and chemical incompatibilities among the drugs administered intravenously to patients admitted to an adult intensive care unit. We also aimed to establish pharmaceutical guidelines for administering incompatible drugs.
This cross-sectional, prospective, and quantitative study was conducted from July to September 2015. Drug incompatibilities were identified based on an analysis of the patient prescriptions available in the hospital online management system. A pharmaceutical intervention was performed using the guidelines on the preparation and administration of incompatible drugs. Adherence to those guidelines was subsequently assessed among the nursing staff.
A total of 100 prescriptions were analyzed; 68 were incompatible with the intravenous drugs prescribed. A total of 271 drug incompatibilities were found, averaging 4.0 ± 3.3 incompatibilities per prescription. The most commonly found drug incompatibilities were between midazolam and hydrocortisone (8.9%), between cefepime and midazolam (5.2%), and between hydrocortisone and vancomycin (5.2%). The drugs most commonly involved in incompatibilities were midazolam, hydrocortisone, and vancomycin. The most common incompatibilities occurred when a drug was administered via continuous infusion and another was administered intermittently (50%). Of the 68 prescriptions that led to pharmaceutical guidelines, 45 (66.2%) were fully adhered to by the nursing staff.
Patients under intensive care were subjected to a high rate of incompatibilities. Drug incompatibilities can be identified and eliminated by the pharmacist on the multidisciplinary team, thereby reducing undesirable effects among patients.
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science
44
25%
Nursing and Health Professions
15
8%
Medicine and Dentistry
14
8%
Immunology and Microbiology
5
3%
Agricultural and Biological Sciences
2
1%
Other
9
5%
Unknown
88
50%
Attention Score in Context
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 2. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 17 August 2022.
All research outputs
#22,279,745
of 32,185,128 outputs
Outputs from Revista Brasileira de Terapia Intensiva
#200
of 388 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#273,486
of 431,700 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Revista Brasileira de Terapia Intensiva
#16
of 26 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 32,185,128 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 28th percentile – i.e., 28% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 388 research outputs from this source. They receive a mean Attention Score of 3.8. This one is in the 44th percentile – i.e., 44% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 431,700 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one is in the 34th percentile – i.e., 34% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
We're also able to compare this research output to 26 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 38th percentile – i.e., 38% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
