Preventable critical incidents in anaesthesia: a retrospective analysis of two anaesthetic mishaps after inadvertent drug administration

Authors

  • Shyam Charan Meena Government Medical College, Rangbari Rd, Sector - A, Rangbari, Kota, Rajasthan 324010
  • Suresh Chandra Dulara Government Medical College, Rangbari Rd, Sector - A, Rangbari, Kota, Rajasthan 324010
  • Samta Meena Government Medical College, Rangbari Rd, Sector - A, Rangbari, Kota, Rajasthan 324010
  • Archana Tripathi Government Medical College, Rangbari Rd, Sector - A, Rangbari, Kota, Rajasthan 324010
  • Jitendra Nagar Government Medical College, Rangbari Rd, Sector - A, Rangbari, Kota, Rajasthan 324010

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3126/jsan.v3i2.15619

Keywords:

Drug labelling, hospital incident reporting, medication errors, neuromuscular blocking agents

Abstract

Drug errors in anaesthesia can be life threatening. In this article, we report two such mishaps of wrong drug administration. A 12-year-old boy was unintentionally injected atracurium instead of diclofenac for pain relief. He became apneic and did not respond to verbal commands. His trachea was intubated and he was mechanically ventilated. After 40 minutes of sedation, mechanical ventilation and stable hemodynamics, extubation of trachea was done. Another patient was also accidentally injected atracurium in the operating room to provide post-operative analgesia at the end of the surgery. Both the cases had favourable outcome because of a high degree of suspicion, prompt diagnosis and early intubation; very crucial steps in such scenarios. This article concludes that the labels should be carefully checked before drug administration, for the right drug and adequate dosage at the right time.

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Author Biography

Shyam Charan Meena, Government Medical College, Rangbari Rd, Sector - A, Rangbari, Kota, Rajasthan 324010

Assistant Professor in Anaesthesiology and Intensive care Department

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Published

2016-09-17

How to Cite

Meena, S. C., Dulara, S. C., Meena, S., Tripathi, A., & Nagar, J. (2016). Preventable critical incidents in anaesthesia: a retrospective analysis of two anaesthetic mishaps after inadvertent drug administration. Journal of Society of Anesthesiologists of Nepal, 3(2), 84–86. https://doi.org/10.3126/jsan.v3i2.15619

Issue

Section

Case Reports