The misuse of infusion pumps is among the main causes of serious medication errors during intravenous drug administration, according to an earlier report.
In its medication incidents report issued in October last year, the Hospital Authority urged caution when dealing with intravenous medication. The report said four out of five serious medication errors detected between the third quarter of 1998 and first quarter of last year involved intravenous medication. 'One of the most frequent causes of serious medication errors during intravenous drug administration is the misuse of infusion pumps,' the report says. 'This is often associated with improper flow rate settings. Other causes of serious medication errors involve wrong calculations and wrong patients.' The patients involved required either an antidote or further treatment.
The president of the Public Doctors' Association, Dr Lai Kang-yiu, said overdoses of morphine could cause confusion and breathing difficulties. The victim could suffer hypoxia, or lack of oxygen, and suffer brain damage. Ella Lee
