A retrospective analysis of adverse events reported by Tunisian intensive care professionals

Abstract

Introduction Adverse events (AEs) that occur in hospitals remain a challenge worldwide, and especially in intensive care units (ICUs) where they are more likely to occur. Monitoring of AEs can provide insight into the status and advances of patient safety. This study aimed at examining the AEs reported during 20 months after the implementation of AE reporting system. Methods We conducted a retrospective analysis of a voluntary ICU AE reporting system. Incidents were reported by staff from 10 ICUs in the Sahloul University Hospital (Tunisia) between February 2020 and September 2021. Results A total of 265 reports were received, of which, 61.9% were deemed preventable. The most reported event was healthcare-associated infections (30.2%, n=80), followed by pressure ulcers (18.5%, n=49). At the time of reporting, 25 patients (9.4%) had died as a result of an AE and in 51.3% of cases, the event had resulted in an increased length of stay. Provider-related factors contributed to 64.2% of the events, whilst patient-related factors contributed to 53.6% of the events. As for criticality, 34.3% of the events (n=91) were unacceptable (c3) and 36.3% of the events (n= 96) were ‘acceptable under control’ (c2). Conclusions The reporting system provided rich information on the characteristics of reported AEs that occur in ICUs and their consequences and may be therefore useful for designing effective and evidence-based interventions to reduce the occurrence of AEs.