Medication errors were reported for the first time in 1962. Neonates are more exposed than other pediatric and adult patients. In Burkina Faso, a few medication errors in neonate care units are known.
This study aimed to characterize medication errors along the clinical medication circuit in the neonatology unit of the teaching pediatric hospital of Ouagadougou. A cross-sectional study included 38 neonates admitted to the neonatology unit between the 1st and the 30th of April 2023. The neonates’
parents, and healthcare givers such as physicians, pharmacists, and nurses verbally gave their consent to participate in the study. Patients’ medicine prescriptions and observed medication dispensing, preparation, and administration practices were analyzed. The detected errors were characterized in terms of nature, frequency, severity, and the occurring stage of the medication process. 38 neonates were included in the study; 214 prescriptions were analyzed, 102 delivery drug packages were checked, 36 drug preparations, and 54 drug administrations were observed. A total of 179 medication errors were identified. Prescribing and drug administration were the stages with the highest proportion of errors, 53.07 and 40.78%, respectively. The relative incidence rate of medication errors was for administration (135.19%) and prescription (44.39%). Pharmaceutical interventions to solve drug-related medication problems concerned dose errors at 53.14%. According to the level of realization, 41.90% were potential errors and were prevented. No medication errors had an immediate impact on patients' health.
Shortcomings in the prescribing and administration stage of newborn medication revealed the need for training strategies to enhance the safety and quality of the medication process in the neonatology unit of the teaching pediatric hospital of Ouagadougou.

Medication errors, newborns, error characterization, Burkina Faso