Discarded intravenous medication in the intensive care unit (ICU): the GAME-OVER multicenter prospective observational study
An erratum to this article was published (Crit Care, 21 Jan 2026 ↗)
Authors' conclusion
Discarded intravenous medication in the ICU is considerable and results in significant costs for the health care system, without obvious patient-centered value. Risk factors associated with medication waste were largely nonmodifiable
Study context
- Population
- Adult ICU patients in France, November 2022 to March 2023
- Participants
- 1,076 patients · 81 ICUs
- Outcome
- Percentage of discarded IV medication in the ICU (discarded volume / total volume of IV medication prepared)
Methodological detailsmulticentre, 24-h period
- Multicentre
- 24-h period
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Discarded IV medication
Intravenous (IV) medication prepared (130 IV medications)
408.9 L
Discarded volume
43.8 L
Discarded IV medication
10.7%
95% CI 9.9–11.5
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Secondary outcomes
Risk factors for discarded IV medication
- Independently associated with increased discarded IV medication: number of daily admissions/discharges, admission for elective surgery, SOFA score ≥ 7, endotracheal intubation, RRT and BMI
Key drugs and cost
- Pharmaceutical waste attributed to 25 key drugs
- 90%
- Estimated national annual cost
- 2,737,163€
Original publication
Discarded intravenous medication in the ICU: the GAME-OVER multicenter prospective observational study. Crit Care. Published 21 February 2025. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →