An observational feasibility study of a new anaesthesia drug storage tray

Almghairbi, Dalal S.; Sharp, Lisa; Griffiths, Richard; Evley, Rachel; Gupta, Shashi; Moppett, Iain K.

Abstract

Drug errors in the anaesthetic domain remains a serious cause of iatrogenic harm. To help reduce this issue, we aimed to explore the potential impact of a simple colour-coded tray to drug preparation and storage on safe drug administration during anaesthesia. Over a six-month period, a total of 30 cases were observed. The observations were conducted at three NHS Trusts by three different trained researchers. Ten observations involved the standard drug trays in ‘normal’ practice and 20 observations, before and after, were conducted where the new “Rainbow trays” were used. A total of 20 semi-structured interviews were conducted immediately upon completing the second observation with the involved anaesthetists. All discussions and detailed notes taken were transcribed and qualitatively analysed using line-byline coding. These codes were then synthesized into themes. Current practice using unicompartmental trays is quick, cheap, and portable but linked to potential or actual harmful errors such as syringe swaps. The Rainbow trays, seem to aid drug identification, allow for drug separation and act as a prompt to guard against drug errors. Limitations to the feasibility of use were around design and placement. The Rainbow trays were perceived as likely to reduce drug errors and improve patient safety. Additionally, there was an overall preference for this novel system at all three sites, as they were perceived to be easy to use and effective.

Citation

Almghairbi, D. S., Sharp, L., Griffiths, R., Evley, R., Gupta, S., & Moppett, I. K. (2018). An observational feasibility study of a new anaesthesia drug storage tray. Anaesthesia, 73(3), 356-364. https://doi.org/10.1111/anae.14187

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 23, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Jan 3, 2018
• Publication Date: Feb 13, 2018
• Deposit Date: Feb 26, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 4, 2019
• Journal: Anaesthesia
• Print ISSN: 0003-2409
• Electronic ISSN: 1365-2044
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 73
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 356-364
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/anae.14187
• Keywords: Drug-checking, Drug errors, Drug preparation, Patient safety
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/911542
• Publisher URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/anae.14187
• Additional Information: This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Almghairbi, D. S., Sharp, L. , Griffiths, R. , Evley, R. , Gupta, S. and Moppett, I. K. (2018), An observational feasibility study of a new anaesthesia drug storage tray. Anaesthesia, 73: 356-364. doi:10.1111/anae.14187 which has been published in final form at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/anae.14187 This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.
• Contract Date: Feb 26, 2018