The Particulars: Patients with HIV who are prescribed highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) are at high risk for medication errors. Few studies have assessed the rates of these errors at individual institutions.
Data Breakdown: A retrospective chart review of patients admitted to the Cleveland Clinic was conducted among HIV patients receiving HAART. The authors found at least one medication error among 50% of admissions, with an average of 1.6 errors per patient. Of medication errors that were reported, 65% were not resolved. Female gender and hemodialysis occurred more frequently in patients with errors. The most common errors were major drug interactions (26%), dosing (20%), contraindicated drug interactions (12%), frequency (11%), and incomplete regimens (11%).
Take Home Pearls: Medication errors appear to be common among patients with HIV, and many of these errors are not recognized or resolved during admission.
