Management of patients with cardiovascular diseases during Ramadan.

During the month of Ramadan, over one billion Muslims observe a water and food fast from sunrise to sunset. The practice of this religious duty causes marked changes in eating and sleeping habits. With the increasing incidence of cardiovascular (CV) risk factors, the number of patients with CV pathologies who wish to fast is increasing worldwide, and in Tunisia, which is ranked as a high CV risk country. If fasting has been shown to be beneficial for the improvement of some metabolic parameters, its practice in patients with CV pathology remains debated. The Tunisian Society of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Surgery (STCCCV) in consultation with the National Instance of Evaluation and Accreditation in Health (INEAS) has established this document in the form of a consensus after having analysed the literature with the aim of addressing these questions: -What is the impact of fasting in patients with CV pathologies? -How to stratify the risk of fasting according to CV pathology and comorbidities? -How to plan fasting in patients with CV diseases? -What are the hygienic and dietary measures to be recommended during fasting in patients with CV pathologies? -How to manage medication during the month of Ramadan in patients with CV diseases?

Application of Failure Mode, Effects, and Criticality Analysis to the Medication-Use Process for Temperature-Sensitive Drugs in a University Hospital.

Background: In the hospital setting, the medication-use system for temperature-sensitive drugs is a high-risk process. Objectives: To analyze the risks associated with the hospital-based medication-use process and to propose corrective and preventive actions for the most critical failure modes. Methods: A multidisciplinary team was trained to analyze the medication-use process for temperature-sensitive drugs and to identify potential failures using a risk analysis method known as failure mode, effects, and criticality analysis (FMECA). The medication-use process, from initial supply to administration to patients, was investigated using "the 5 Ws and How" method (Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?), and the causes of the failure modes were analyzed using Ishikawa diagrams. The most critical failure modes were selected using the Pareto law, and relevant improvement actions were proposed. Results: This analysis identified 41 failure modes for the 9 stages of the medication-use process, of which only 36 were deemed assessable by the participants. Eighteen (50%) of these failure modes were critical, according to the Pareto law, with criticality indices between 12 and 60. The stage of tidying up and storage in patient care units had the highest number of critical failures (n = 5). A total of 48 corrective actions were proposed. Conclusion: The proposed action plan prioritized 3 areas for improvement: the documentation system, staff training, and equipment acquisition. A second FMECA should be carried out to reassess the medication-use process after implementation of these improvement actions. The second FMECA, allowing detection of residual risks and identification of new risks, will be part of a continuous improvement process.

Contexte: Le circuit des médicaments thermosensibles en milieu hospitalier fait partie des processus à risque. Objectifs: Analyser a priori les risques liés à ce circuit et proposer des actions correctives et préventives contre les modes de défaillances les plus critiques. Méthodes: Une équipe pluridisciplinaire a été formée pour analyser le circuit des médicaments thermosensibles et identifier les défaillances par la méthode de l'analyse des modes de défaillances, de leurs effets et de leurs criticités (AMDEC). Le processus, qui va de l'approvisionnement jusqu'à l'administration des médicaments aux patients, a été décortiqué en utilisant la méthode « Qui? Quoi? Où? Quand? Comment? Pourquoi? ¼ (QQOQCP) et les causes des défaillances ont été analysées à l'aide de diagrammes d'Ishikawa. Les défaillances les plus critiques ont été sélectionnées par la loi de Pareto, et des mesures d'amélioration pertinentes ont été proposées. Résultats: Cette analyse a mis en évidence 41 modes de défaillances pour les 9 étapes du circuit, dont uniquement 36 sont jugés évaluables par les membres de l'équipe pluridisciplinaire. Dix-huit modes sur 36 (soit 50 %) sont critiques selon la loi de Pareto, avec des indices de criticité répartis entre 12 et 60. L'étape comprenant le nombre le plus élevé de défaillances critiques est celle du rangement et du stockage dans les services de soins, avec 5 défaillances. Au total, 48 mesures correctives ont été proposées. Conclusions: Le plan d'action proposé priorisait 3 domaines d'amélioration : le système de documentation, la formation du personnel et l'acquisition d'équipements. Une deuxième AMDEC devrait être réalisée pour réévaluer le circuit après la mise en œuvre des mesures d'amélioration. La deuxième AMDEC permettra la détection des risques résiduels et l'identification de nouveaux risques et s'inscrira dans une démarche d'amélioration continue. Mots-clés: chaîne du froid, médicament thermosensible, gestion des risques, sécurité des patients.

Prevalence and risk factors of pressure ulcers in a Tunisian hospital.

BACKGROUND: the aim of thisstudywas to investigate the prevalence of pressure ulcers in hospitalized patients at the Charles Nicolle Hospital in Tunis, measure the risk of their occurrence, analyzepreventive and curative measuresundertaken and evaluatefactorspredisposing to pressure ulcers. METHODS: A one-day survey was performed in all hospitalized patients. Emergency services, neonatology and pediatrics were excluded. The Braden scale was used to measure the patient's risk for the development of pressure ulcers. Analysis of risk factors was performed using SPSS version 19 software. RESULTS: A total of 473 patients was included. The mean age was 52.26 years. Nearly 10% of patients had a moderate or a high risk of developing pressure ulcers with a Braden score less than 18. The prevalence of patients with pressure ulcers was 5.3% with a prevalence of 4.7% of nosocomial pressure ulcer. There was no significant difference in prevalence between medical and surgical services. The prevalence was relatively more important in intensive care and general surgery. The most frequent sites were sacrum and heels. Stages 3 (46.4%) and 2 (37.5%) were the mainly stages descriped. Evaluation of management of bedsores formed revealed that half was treated with modern wound dressings. Statistical analysis revealed that a Braden score <18 is correlated with pressure ulcers ( 96% of patients with bedsores. Patients transferred from other services, patients recently operated or those with probably inadequate diet seem to be more at risk of developing pressure ulcers. In contrast, age and sex were not identified as significant risk factors. CONCLUSION: pressure ulcer remains a significant problem in hospital.  This problem is preventable when applying adequate prevention but its management requires a multidisciplinary approach.

Errors in preparation and administration of parenteral drugs in neonatology: evaluation and corrective actions.

BACKGROUND: The medication iatrogenic risk is quite unevaluated in neonatology Objective: Assessment of errors that occurred during the preparation and administration of injectable medicines in a neonatal unit in order to implement corrective actions to reduce the occurrence of these errors. METHODS: A prospective, observational study was performed in a neonatal unit over a period of one month. The practice of preparing and administering injectable medications were identified through a standardized data collection form. These practices were compared with summaries of the characteristics of each product (RCP) and the bibliography. RESULTS: One hundred preparations were observed of 13 different drugs. 85 errors during preparations and administration steps were detected. These errors were divided into preparation errors in 59% of cases such as changing the dilution protocol (32%), the use of bad solvent (11%) and administration errors in 41% of cases as errors timing of administration (18%) or omission of administration (9%). CONCLUSION: This study showed a high rate of errors during stages of preparation and administration of injectable drugs. In order to optimize the care of newborns and reduce the risk of medication errors, corrective actions have been implemented through the establishment of a quality assurance system which consisted of the development of injectable drugs preparation procedures, the introduction of a labeling system and staff training.