RESUMO
INTRODUCTION: Intensive care units (ICUs) are the most frequent setting for serious medical errors, which not only have serious health consequences but also an economic impact. In this article, using a theoretical model, we evaluate four medication administration systems: conventional preparation by nursing staff, MINIBAG Plus delivery system, compounding center preparation, and premix drugs. METHODS: We designed a decision tree model from a third-party payer perspective, and the time horizon of the acute event. Local costs, in Colombian pesos (US $1 = 1784 COP$), were obtained from tariff manuals, medication costs from Sismed information system, and clinical variables from the published literature, and uncertainty was dealt with by an expert panel. The drug used for the model was dopamine. RESULTS: Average costs for each dopamine dose delivered were $46,995 for premix, $47,625 for compounding center, $101,934 for MINIBAG Plus, and $108,870 for drug prepared in the ICU. The variability of these results is higher for compounding center than for premix, and even higher for MINIBAG Plus and nurse delivery. CONCLUSIONS: The use of premix drugs can be a cost-saving strategy, which decreases medical errors in drug administration in the ICU, particularly if it is part of an integral error reduction program.
RESUMO
A 61-year-old male presented to the emergency department (ED) with painless diplopia, left-ptosis, and left downward gaze, 3 days after sustaining a fall from standing height with subsequent lumbar and head trauma. Prior to the ED consult, his only symptom was persistent generalized high intensity headache. On physical examination, no other neurological deficit was found. Computed tomography (CT) scan showed Fisher 4 subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Cerebral angiogram and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were negative. Screening for possible secondary causes of isolated third-nerve palsy (TNP) were all negative. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a traumatic SAH with delayed onset of an isolated complete TNP as its manifestation. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST/DISCLOSURES: None pertinent to this research. AUTHOR JUSTIFICATIONS: All authors have provided original or professional content and were involved in the clinical care of the patient. LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS: CNcranial nerveDSAdigital subtraction angiogramGCSGlasgow Coma ScalePCOMposterior communicating arterySAHsubarachnoid hemorrhageTNPthird nerve palsytSAHtraumatic SAH.