Errors committed by nursing technicians and assistants in administering antibiotics.

Background: Success in any antibiotic treatment depends on many factors, including the associated preparation procedures and the nursing care management.

Objective: The aim of this research was to analyze errors in nursing procedures in the use of cefepime.

Methods: A survey was performed in the adult patients' wing of a university hospital in Brazil, and a direct observation technique was used to process variation errors. Errors were classified by type.

Results: Thirty-three nursing assistants were observed and interviewed as they prepared and administered cefepime on 99 occasions. From our sample, 20 (20%) applications were performed correctly but 126 errors were observed in 79 cases (80%). The majority (62%) of errors detected were time (scheduled and rate) related. Trained personnel executed the procedure for diluting the solution better than nontrained personnel, but no other statistically significant effect related to the knowledge level of the personnel was detected. This study concluded that errors occurred during care of patients because lack of specific procedures, such as adequate planned rate of infusion and schedule time. They were classified in an American Society of Health-System Pharmacists scheme. It is recommended that corrective practice and safety measures be introduced.