Cross-sectional study of potential incompatibility of intravenous medications in a neonatal intensive care unit in Indonesia

Abstract

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study is to determine the most common incompatible and unknown compatibility drug combinations and determine the compatibility of each pair of drugs used in hospitals based on reference books and journals. MethodsThis is a prospective cross sectional study. All babies who were admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Units from May 1 to July 31 2021 were sample of the study. Patients who did not receive at least two drug coadministrated concurrently and who stayed less than 24 hours were excluded. Only drug-drug combinations were considered and the other non-drug administrations (electrolyte solutions, parenteral nutritions, and blood products) were excluded. Compatibility data were obtained from literature and online search engines [micromedex NeoFax Essentials 2020, UCL Hospitals Injectable Medicines Administration Guide: Pharmacy Department, 3rd Edition, Trissel Handbook on injectable drugs 15th edition, and published journals]. ResultsThe most commonly prescribed drug combinations were ampicillin-gentamicin (31.72%), amikacin-ampicillin sulbactam (9.05%), amikacin-ampicillin sulbactam-aminophylline (3.08%). The most common drug incompatible combination was ampicillin - gentamicin (31.71%), for the most drug combinations whose compatibility unknown were amikacin-ampicillin sulbactam (9.05%). ConclusionThe high prevalence of incompatible drugs and unknown compatibility was identified, so checking its compatibility can be carried out through a two-dimensional chart to minimize the incidence of incompatibilities.