Chapter 5, Problem 1O

Summary Introduction

To Compare:

The terms “adverse drug event, adverse drug reaction, allergic reaction, idiosyncratic reaction, medical error and medication error related to drug therapy in the context of professional nursing practice.

Introduction:

Professional practice is defined as applying one’s knowledge in a specific profession. Professional practice in nursing means the way in which the nurses practice, communicate, cooperate and develop workwise for providing high quality care for those the organization is serving.

Explanation of Solution

Adverse drug event is a common term that includes all kinds of clinical problems associated with medication use, along with medication errors plus adverse drug reactions.

Adverse drug reaction can be defined as any harmful reaction which is caused by the use of medicinal product. The adverse drug reactions can be classified into six types based on dose, time, failure and withdrawal of the treatment. The two major types of adverse reactions are an allergic reaction and idiosyncratic reaction. This reaction may occur as a result of single or combination of medicines. These reactions are completely different from the side effects.

Allergic reactions are immunological reaction which result from an uncommon sensitivity of an individual (patient) for a particular medication. The allergic reaction is a kind of adverse drug event as well as a subtype of adverse drug reactions. Idiosyncratic reaction is defined as any an unusual and unpredicted response for medications. These reactions occur apart from the allergic reaction.

Medical error is defined as any error which occurs during patient care that can cause a potential harm to the human. A medication error is a preventable occasion that causes incorrect use of medicines or patient harm, when the medication is under the control of the health professional, consumer or the patient. Poor communication among the doctors, between the doctor and the patient are some of the reasons for the medication errors.

Conclusion

Terms such as “adverse drug event, adverse drug reaction, allergic reaction, idiosyncratic reaction, medical error and medication error” related to drug therapy in the context of professional nursing practice is explained here.