US hospital drug errors highlighted

The issue of drug dosage errors in hospitals has experienced heightened public prominence in the USA following a publicized incident in which the newborn twins of Hollywood film actor Dennis Quaid at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, were given 1,000 times the intended amount of heparin, a blood thinner. A previous incident last year involving the same product, reportedly led to the deaths of three infants at the Indianapolis Methodist Hospital, Indiana.

According to the Institute of Medicine, 1.5 million US patients per year are injured due to the wrong drug or an incorrect dosage being administered. The Food and Drug Administration's figures indicate that serious injuries linked to such errors rose from about 35,000 in 1998 to almost 90,000 in 2005, with deaths increasing 5,000-15,000 over the same period. Heparin, insulin, morphine, potassium chloride and warfarin are the five most commonly-misprescribed drugs in hospitals, accounting for nearly 28% of the cases requiring extended hospitalizations, according to a 2002 study by the US Pharmacopeia.

The heparin incidents occurred when nursing staff incorrectly administered a concentration of 10,000 units per ml instead of 10 units per ml, the Los Angeles Times reported. In the second case, a pharmacist is believed to have incorrectly stocked the blood thinner. The manufacturer in both cases is believed to be Baxter Healthcare, one of seven firms which produces the generic product. Heparin is sold in different concentration levels.