What is the clinical evidence from this study?

Study design: Cohort. Population: Anticoagulant-related medication errors (n=630). Intervention: Advanced age (per decade increase) vs. Younger age. Primary outcome: Major medication error severity (OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.28-1.57, p=<0.001).

What does this research mean for the field?

Advanced age is significantly associated with increased severity of anticoagulant-related medication errors, with the odds of experiencing severe errors increasing by 1.42-fold per decade. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

January 1, 2026International Journal of Clinical PracticeOpen Access

Medication Errors Associated With Anticoagulants at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Saudi Arabia: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Q: What are the key findings of this study?

Advanced age was significantly associated with increased severity of anticoagulant-related medication errors, with the odds of experiencing a major error increasing by 1.42 per decade.

Q: What does this research mean for the field?

Advanced age is significantly associated with increased severity of anticoagulant-related medication errors, with the odds of experiencing severe errors increasing by 1.42-fold per decade. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

Q: What question did this study set out to answer?

To evaluate the types, frequency, severity, and contributing factors of medication errors associated with anticoagulants across different drug classes and patient demographics.

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Key result

Advanced age linked to ~42% greater risk of major anticoagulant errors per decade.

OR 1.42
95% CI 1.28-1.57
P<0.001
n=630

Why the study?

Medication errors associated with anticoagulants in tertiary care settings, including their types, frequency, severity, and contributing factors, were not well characterized in Saudi Arabia.

Population

630 anticoagulant-related medication errors reported at a tertiary care hospital in Saudi Arabia

Comparison

Errors across different anticoagulant types and patient characteristics

Design

Retrospective cohort study

Follow-up

January 2021 to December 2023

Authors

MAMona Ali Alkredees AAAseel AlsreayaArmed Forces Hospital TATahani Alkredees

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

May warrant closer anticoagulant review in older adults; leaves open whether targeted interventions reduce major errors.

Key Points

To evaluate the types, frequency, severity, and contributing factors of medication errors associated with anticoagulants across different drug classes and patient demographics.
Conducted a retrospective cohort study examining 650 anticoagulant-related medication errors documented between January 2021 and December 2023 at the Armed Forces Hospital Southern Region in Saudi Arabia.
Extracted incident reports from Datix and Intervention electronic systems, categorizing error severity via the NCC MERP index and evaluating patient-level predictors using multivariable logistic regression.
Prescribing errors were the most common error category (72.4%), primarily driven by incorrect dosing (61.3%), with enoxaparin involved in 51.2% of errors, apixaban in 25.2%, and warfarin in 18.2%.
While 91.4% of events were NCC MERP category B, advanced age significantly predicted greater error severity (OR 1.42 per decade increase, 95% CI: 1.28–1.57, p < 0.001), with patients aged 70–84 years experiencing the highest frequency of errors.
Lack of provider knowledge (39.7%) and monitoring failure (33.4%) represented the primary underlying factors contributing to anticoagulant errors.

Study Design

Type

Cohort (n=630)

Multicenter

Structured PICO

Population

630 patients aged 24 to 84 years who experienced anticoagulant-related medication errors at a tertiary care hospital in Saudi Arabia between 2021 and 2023.

Exposure

Anticoagulants (enoxaparin, apixaban, warfarin, rivaroxaban)

Outcome

Types, frequencies, severity (using NCC MERP index), and contributing factors of medication errors associated with anticoagulantssafety

Main Result

Odds Ratio: 1.42 (95% CI 1.28–1.57)

p-value: p=<0.001

Anticoagulant-related medication errors are predominantly prescribing errors involving incorrect dosing, particularly with enoxaparin, and are strongly associated with lack of knowledge and advanced patient age.

Cite This Study

Alkredees et al. (2026) conducted a cohort in Anticoagulant-related medication errors (n=630). Advanced age (per decade increase) vs. Younger age was evaluated on Major medication error severity (OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.28-1.57, p=<0.001). Advanced age was significantly associated with increased severity of anticoagulant-related medication errors, with the odds of experiencing a major error increasing by 1.42 per decade.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6aacf32d313bf23a913fe576 https://doi.org/10.1155/ijcp/1697981

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Medication Errors Associated With Anticoagulants at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Saudi Arabia: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Study Design

Structured PICO

Main Result

Cite This Study

Medication Errors Associated With Anticoagulants at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Saudi Arabia: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Study Design

Structured PICO

Main Result

Cite This Study

Also Consider

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