overadministered

Overadministered is an adjective used to describe a situation in which a person receives more of a substance than is intended or appropriate, typically as a result of errors in medical administration. It is related to, but not identical with, overdose; overdose refers to the amount exceeding a toxic dose, while overadministration emphasizes the act of administration itself.

Causes of overadministration include miscommunication among clinicians, miscalculation of dose, unit conversion errors (such as mixing up milligrams and milliliters), patient misidentification, and equipment failures such as incorrect infusion pump settings. It can occur with medications, intravenous fluids, or other therapies delivered by various routes. High-risk settings include emergency departments, intensive care units, and during transitions of care when information transfer is imperfect.

Consequences range from minor adverse effects to serious harm or death. Examples include hypoglycemia from excessive insulin, electrolyte disturbances, bleeding or thrombosis from anticoagulants, and organ injury from nephrotoxic or hepatotoxic drugs. The specific outcome depends on the substance, amount given, patient factors, and timing of recognition.

Prevention and mitigation rely on medication safety practices. These include electronic prescribing with decision support, accurate dose calculations, double-checks for high-risk drugs, barcode scanning, smart infusion pumps, standardized protocols, and thorough medication reconciliation. Prompt monitoring of vital signs and laboratory values is essential when overadministration is suspected, along with documentation, reporting, and learning from events to prevent recurrence.

In pharmacovigilance and patient-safety literature, overadministration is discussed as a preventable medical error tied to administration processes, rather than solely to patient factors.