| Title: |
Ottawa Hospital Patient Safety Study: incidence and timing of adverse events in patients admitted to a Canadian teaching hospital. |
| Authors: |
Forster, Alan J.; Asmis, Tim R.; Clark, Heather D.; Al Saied, Ghiath; Code, Catherine C.; Caughey, Sharon C.; Baker, Kevin; Watters, James; Worthington, Jim; Van Walraven, Carl |
| Source: |
Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ); 4/13/2004, Vol. 170 Issue 8, p1235-1240, 6p, 4 Charts |
| Subject Terms: |
HOSPITAL care; PATIENTS; TEACHING hospitals; OUTPATIENT medical care; PHYSICIANS |
| Abstract: |
Background: Adverse events are poor patient outcomes that are due to medical care. Studies of hospital patients have demon-strated that adverse events are common, but few data describe the timing of them in relation to hospital admission. We evalu-ated characteristics of adverse events affecting patients admit-ted to a Canadian teaching hospital, paying particular atten-tion to timing. Methods: We randomly selected 502 adults admitted to the Ot-tawa Hospital for acute care of nonpsychiatric illnesses over a 1-year period. Charts were reviewed in 2 stages. If an adverse event was judged to have occurred, a physician determined whether it occurred before or during the index hospitalization. The reviewer also rated the preventability, severity and type of each adverse event. Results: Of the 64 patients with an adverse event (incidence 12.7%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 10.1%--16.0%), 24 had a preventable event (4.8%, 95% CI 3.2%--7.0%), and 3 (0.6%, 95% CI 0.2%--1.7%) died because of an adverse event. Most adverse events were due to drug treatment, operative compli-cations or nosocomial infections. Of the 64 patients, 39 (61%, 95% CI 49%--72%) experienced the adverse event before the index hospitalization. Interpretation: Adverse events were common in this study. However, only one-third were deemed avoidable, and most occurred before the hospitalization. Interventions to improve safety must address ambulatory care as well as hospital-based care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| : |
Copyright of Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) is the property of CMA Impact Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| Database: |
Complementary Index |