Background:

Identifying undesirable clinical events related to the administration of vasoactive amines is essential for patient safety, particularly in intensive care settings.

Objective:

The general objective is to analyze the practices related to the administration of vasoactive amines. The specific objectives are to describe the administration of vasoactive amines and analyze the undesirable clinical events related to the administration of these drugs in critically ill patients.

Methodology:

Quantitative, observational, cross-sectional study with a sample of 97 patients. The variables related to the administration of vasoactive amines and the records of undesirable clinical events were analyzed. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis was performed.

Results:

The frequency of use of norepinephrine was 70.1%, followed by dobutamine (29.9%). About 47.4% of amines were administered through the proximal lumen of the central venous catheter, while 12.4% were double-checked in the prescription. The undesirable clinical events were three-fold higher in patients monitored every 2 hours.

Conclusion:

There is a failure in the monitoring of patients with prescribed amines and in the double checking of these drugs.

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