Accuracy of Antiretroviral Prescribing in a Community Teaching Hospital: A Medication Use Evaluation

Abstract

Background:

Medication errors account for nearly 250 000 deaths in the United States annually, with approximately 60% of errors occurring during transitions of care. Previous studies demonstrated that almost 80% of participants with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have experienced a medication error related to their antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Objective:

This retrospective chart review examines propensity and type of ART-related errors and further seeks to identify risk factors associated with higher error rates.

Methods:

Participants were identified as hospitalized adults ≥18 years old with preexisting HIV diagnosis receiving home ART from July 2015 to June 2017. Medication error categories included delays in therapy, dosing errors, scheduling conflicts, and miscellaneous errors. Logistic regression was used to examine risk factors for medication errors.

Results:

Mean age was 49 years, 76.5% were men, and 72.1% used hospital-supplied medication. For the primary outcome, 60.3% (41/68) of participants had at least 1 error, with 31.3% attributed to delays in therapy. Logistic regression demonstrated multiple tablet regimens (odds ratio [OR]: 3.40, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.22-9.48, P = .019) and serum creatinine (SCr) ≥1.5 mg/dL (OR: 8.87, 95% CI: 1.07-73.45, P = .043) were predictive for risk of medication errors. Regimens with significant drug–drug interactions (eg, cobicistat-containing regimens) were not significantly associated with increased risk of medication errors.

Conclusions and Relevance:

ART-related medication error rates remain prevalent and exceeded 60%. Independent risk factors for medication errors include use of multiple tablet regimens and SCr ≥1.5 mg/dL.