Caracterização do ambiente de preparo e administração de medicamentos em unidades de urgência e emergência da rede pré-hospitalar fixa

Abstract

Introduction: In the las decades, much has been said about patient safety, with a focus on reducing medication errors by 50%. Studies have been developed on the subject, however, there are few studies that show the conditions of the environment for the preparation and administration of medicines. This study addresses the reality of the environment for preparing and administering medications in urgent and emergency units in the fixed pre-hospital network. Objective: To characterize the environment for the preparation and administration of medications in urgent and emergency units of the pre-hospital fixed network, in relation to illuminance, ventilation and noise conditions. Method: Descriptive cross-sectional study, carried out in ten urgency and emergency units of the pre-hospital fixed network in the municipality of Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil. The data were collected during the day, in a random way, in each health unit, except for the noises, which were collected in two moments, during the middle week and the other during the weekend. The instruments used in data collection were: measuring tape, decibel meter and visual inspection and the data were recorded in a checklist type form previously prepared in accordance with the Resolution of the Collegiate Board - RDC No. 50/02. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, as well as by for formulas for calculating illuminance and natural ventilation. Results: It was observed the environment of 59 medicine preparation and administration rooms that compose the urgency and emergency units in ten Health District Service Centers. Only 25.3% of the rooms had adequate natural lighting. This because, for most part, such rooms did not have a window or the window had some barrier that prevented the passage of light. Artificial lighting used fluorescent lamps and was adequate in only one room, 1.7%. In most rooms there were burned out lamps or no lamps in the luminaire. Natural ventilation was adequate in only 27.0% of the environments, with 18.6% due to the absence of windows and half of these rooms corresponded to nursing stations. It was not possible to calculate artificial ventilation due to the lack of data at the air conditioners. All the observed rooms presented noise above the allowed (35 to 45 decibels). Despite presenting lower levels on weekends, everyone was between 15% to 70% above the tolerable. Conclusion: The results indicate that the environments for preparing and administering medications in the fixed pre-hospital network have, for the most part, inadequacies related to illuminance, ventilation and noise that impair the work process and may lead to the occurrence of medication errors. These results should be interpreted as the opportunity for planning and adaptations in these environments to prevent medication errors that can be avoided