• Ramzi Shawahna and Mohammad Jaber.
• Department of Physiology, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine; An-Najah BioSciences Unit, Centre for Poisons Control, Chemical and Biological Analyses, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine.
• World Neurosurg. 2022 Oct 1; 166: e632e644e632-e644.

BackgroundThis study explored medication errors in the perioperative care of patients with epilepsy and developed consensus-based recommendations to prevent/minimize these errors.MethodsA mixed method was used in this study. Medication error situations were explored in semi-structured in-depth interviews with nurses (n = 12), anesthesiologists (n = 5), anesthesia technicians (n = 5), surgeons (n = 4), neurologists (n = 4), and patients with epilepsy (n = 10). The qualitative data were analyzed using the qualitative interpretive description approach. A two-round Delphi technique was used among nurses (n = 22), anesthesiologists (n = 9), anesthesia technicians (n = 7), surgeons (n = 7), and neurologists (n = 5).ResultsA total of 1400 minutes of interview time was analyzed in this study. Of the panelists, 39 (78.0%) agreed that patients with epilepsy present unique challenges to providers of perioperative care that make them prone to medication errors. The interviewees in this study described 32 different medication error situations that occurred while providing perioperative care services to patients with epilepsy. In this study, 35 consensus-based recommendations to prevent/minimize medication errors in the perioperative care of patients with epilepsy were developed.ConclusionsThe findings of this study are informative to decision-makers in health care facilities and other stakeholders in health regulatory authorities who need to design measures to prevent/minimize medication errors and improve perioperative outcomes of patients with epilepsy. Studies are needed to investigate if these recommendations can be effective in preventing/reducing medication errors in the perioperative care of patients with epilepsy.Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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