Evaluation of oral fluoroquinolone administration before and after implementation of computer generated medication administration record

Objectives: Concomitant oral administration of fluoroquinolones with metal cations can decrease the absorption of the antibiotic and can lead to decreased blood concentrations and pharmacological effect. The primary and secondary objectives of this study were to determine the incidence of scheduled and actual co-administration times in handwritten and computer generated medication administration records of oral ciprofloxacin and oral moxifloxacin with interacting substances that can affect fluoroquinolone gastrointestinal absorption. Methods: This retrospective chart review study has been approved by the Intuitional Review Board. Patients over the age of 6 months who were prescribed either oral ciprofloxacin or oral moxifloxacin while admitted to an academic medical center during a one month period before (May 2010) and after (August 2010) implementation of a computer generated medication administration record were evaluated. Patients who did not receive any interacting substances known to affect oral fluoroquinolone absorption within 24 hours of an oral fluoroquinolone dose(s) were excluded. Data collected for each subject included demographic information, scheduled and actual times of oral fluoroquinolone administration, reason for change in time of administration if applicable, scheduled and actual time of administration of interacting substance(s), and use of enteral feeds. The scheduled and the actual time of administration oral fluoroquinolones and interacting substances will be compared before and after the implementation of a computer generated medication administration record. Results: At the medical center, 129 and 154 patients were identified who received oral ciprofloxacin or moxifloxacin during a one month period before and after implantation of a computer generated medication administration record. The times of scheduled and actual administration of oral fluoroquinolone agents and interacting substances during the two time periods to be evaluated. Conclusions: Data analysis will be completed by the presentation date.