The databases MEDLINE, PubMed, and Embase, were used to search for the relevant literature regarding the PICOT question. MEDLINE is the National Library of Medicine’s (NLM) database with references to journal articles mainly focused on biomedicine. PubMed is a component of MEDLINE, but it contains extra references to books and chapters and covers a broader subject focus. Although Embase database is also a biomedical bibliographic database, it includes the journal articles published since 1947 and provides information according to regulatory drug selection requirements. When conducting thorough database searches, the search terms included keywords regarding the PICOT question to improve the search’s sensitivity. The keywords were “medication error prevention methods”, “medication error prevention methods in intraoperative setting”, and “prevention of medication error during medication preparation”. When searching for the relevant literature, date limits were placed on the database for updating previously published systematic reviews. In other words, the literature not older than five years was searched for and analyzed.
Inclusion criteria for the databases were the exposure of interest, reported outcomes, and type of publication. First, as the PICOT question is investigating medical issues, it is important for the authors to have the medical knowledge to be considered for inclusion. Second, the inclusion of the study may depend on whether specific outcomes of relevance have been reported in a timely and consistent manner. Third, the original studies were mainly sought as a piece of research evidence in this systematic review. The geographic location of the study was taken as an exclusion criterion, as the PICOT question examines the general topic and does not limit the geographic location.
Overall, 10 articles were found to address the PICOT question. Tariq et al. (2022) and Singh et al. (2022) examined the prevention of medication errors and suggested possible prevention strategies based on their observations. Qvistgaard et al. (2019) and Sebastian et al. (2020) also use their studies’ observational results for the research. Abbasi et al. (2021), Bratch & Pandit (2021), and Cramer et al. (2020) used the quantitative research method as the research evidence for their studies. Bajwa & Mehdiratta (2021) studied the adoption of e-technology as a prevention strategy in a perioperative setting, while Nanji et al. (2021) designed medication-related CDS applications and used quantitative and observational results to examine the principles of building a system to prevent medication errors. Meantime, Billstein-Leber et al. (2018) investigated the guidelines for preventing medication errors based on their observations and analysis.
References
Tariq, R. A., Vashisht, R., Sinha, A., & Scherbak, Y. (2022). Medication Despansing Errors And Prevention. StatPearls. Web.
Singh, G., Patel, R. H. & Boster, J. (2022). Root Cause Analysis and Medical Error Prevention. StatPearls. Web.
Bajwa, S. J. S., & Mehdiratta, L. (2021). Adopting newer strategies of preoperative quality improvement: The bandwagon goes on…, Indian Journal of Anaesthesia, 65(9), 639-643. Web.
Abbasi, S., Rashid, S., & Khan, F. A. (2021). Peri-Operative Medication Errors in a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital of a Low-Middle Income Country, Research Square. Web.
Bratch, R., & Pandit, J. J. (2021). An integrative review of method types used in the study of medication error during anaesthesia: implications for estimating incidence, British Journal of Anaesthesia, 127(3), 458-469. Web.
Cramer, J. D., Balakrishnan, K., Roy, S., Chang, C. W. D., Boss, E. F., Brereton, J. M., Monjur, T. M., Nussenbaum, B., & Brenner, M. J. (2020). Intraoperative Sentinel Events in the Era of Surgical Safety Checklists: Results of National Survey, OTO Open, 4(4), 1-13. Web.
Nanji, K. C., Garabedian, P. M., Shaikh, S. D., Langileb, M. E., Boxwala, A., Gordon, W. J., & Bates, D. W. (2021). Development of a Preoperative Medication-Related Clinical Decision Support Tool to Prevent Medication Errors: An Analysis of User Feedback, Applied Clinical Informatics, 12(5), 984-995. Web.
Qvistgaard, M., Lovebo, J., & Almerud-Österberg, S. (2019). Intraoperative prevention of Surgical Site Infections as experienced by operating room nurses, International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, 14(1). Web.
Sebastian, T., Dhandapani, M., Gopichandran, L., &9.1632109 Dhandapani, S.(2020). Retained Surgical Items: A Review on Preventive Strategies, Asian Journal of Nursing Education and Research, 10(3), 375-379. Web.
Billstein-Leber, M., Carrillo, J. D., Cassano, A. T., Moline, K., & Robertson, J. J. (2018). ASHP Guidelines on Preventing Medication Errors in Hospitals, American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 75, 1493-1517. Web.