Introduction Adverse Events (AE) are one of the main problems in healthcare. Therefore, many policies have been developed worldwide to mitigate their impact. The Patient Safety Incident Study in Hospitals in the Community of Madrid (ESHMAD) measures the results of them in the region. Methods Cross‐sectional study, conducted in May 2019, in hospitalised patients in 34 public hospitals using the Harvard Medical Practice Study methodology. A logistic regression model was carried out to study the association of the variables with the presence of AE, calibrated and adjusted by patient. Results A total of 9975 patients were included, estimating a prevalence of AE of 11.9%. A higher risk of AE was observed in patients with surgical procedures (OR[CI95%]: 2.15[1.79 to 2.57], vs. absence), in Intensive Care Units (OR[CI95%]: 1.60[1.17 to 2.17], vs. Medical) and in hospitals of medium complexity (OR[CI95%]: 1.45[1.12 to 1.87], vs. low complexity). A 62.6% of AE increased the length of the stay or it was the cause of admission, and 46.9% of AE were considered preventable. In 11.5% of patients with AE, they had contributed to their death. Conclusions The prevalence of AE remains similar to the previously estimated one in studies developed with the same methodology. AE keep leading to longer hospital stays, contributing to patient's death, showing that it is necessary to put focus on patient safety again. A detailed analysis of these events has enabled the detection of specific areas for improvement according to the type of care, centre and patient.
Introduction Adverse healthcare-related events (AE) entail reduced patient safety. Estimating their frequency, characteristics, avoidability and impact is a means to identify targets for improvement in the quality of care. Methods This was a descriptive observational study conducted within the Patient Safety Incident Study in Hospitals in the Community of Madrid (ESHMAD). The study was conducted in a high-complexity hospital in May 2019 through a two-phase electronic medical record review: (1) AE screening and epidemiological and clinical data collection and (2) AE review and classification and analysis of their impact, avoidability, and associated costs. Results A total of 636 patients were studied. The prevalence of AE was 12.4%. Death during the stay was associated with the presence of AE (OR [CI95%]: 2.15 [1.07 to 4.52]) versus absence and emergency admission (OR [CI95%]: 17.11[6.63 to 46.26]) versus scheduled. A total of 70.2% of the AEs were avoidable. Avoidable AEs were associated with the presence of pressure ulcers (OR [CI95%]: 2.77 [1.39 to 5.51]), central venous catheter (OR [CI95%]: 2.58 [1.33 to 5.00]) and impaired mobility (OR [CI95%]: 2.24[1.35 to 3.71]), versus absences. They were associated too with the stays in the intensive care unit (OR [CI95%]: 2.75 [1.07 to 7.06]) versus medical service. AEs were responsible for additional costs of €909,716.8 for extra days of stay and €12,461.9 per patient with AE. Conclusions The prevalence of AEs was similar to that found in other studies. AEs led to worse patient outcomes and were associated with the patient’s death. Although avoidable AEs were less severe, their higher frequency produced a greater impact on the patient and healthcare system. Key messages Adverse events are one of the main problems in healthcare delivery and patients who suffer from at least one AE are double as likely to die during hospitalization. Avoidable adverse events are the most frequent in health care and they are a good target where achieve improvement areas that allow getting optimal patient safety and quality of care levels. Patients hospitalized in the ICU, with the previous presence of pressure ulcers, central venous catheter, or impaired mobility were associated with the development of avoidable AE, so optimal management of these patients would reduce the impact of AE.
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