Understanding Surgical Adverse Events
Author Information
Author(s): Marieke Zegers, Martine C de Bruijne, Bertus Keizer, Hanneke Merten, Peter P Groenewegen, Gerrit van der Wal, Cordula Wagner
Primary Institution: NIVEL, Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research
Hypothesis
What is the incidence, consequences, nature, and preventability of surgical adverse events among hospitalized patients?
Conclusion
Surgical adverse events occur more frequently than other types of adverse events and are often preventable, leading to more severe consequences.
Supporting Evidence
- Surgical adverse events occurred in 3.6% of hospital admissions.
- 65% of all adverse events were attributable to surgical specialties.
- 41% of surgical adverse events were considered preventable.
- Surgical adverse events led to more severe consequences than other types of adverse events.
Takeaway
When people have surgery, sometimes things go wrong, and this study found that many of those mistakes could be avoided with better training and procedures.
Methodology
A structured record review study of 7,926 patient records was conducted in 21 Dutch hospitals to identify adverse events during hospitalizations.
Potential Biases
Inter-rater agreement for the judgment of adverse events was fair, which may introduce bias in the assessment.
Limitations
The study may underestimate the number of surgical adverse events due to reliance on recorded information in patient records.
Participant Demographics
Patients from 21 Dutch hospitals, including university, tertiary teaching, and general hospitals.
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.01
Confidence Interval
95% CI
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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