Impact of adverse events on patient outcomes in a Japanese intensive care unit: a retrospective observational study

• Main Authors: Gen Aikawa (Author), Akira Ouchi (Author), Hideaki Sakuramoto (Author), Chiemi Ono (Author), Chie Hatozaki (Author), Mayu Okamoto (Author), Tetsuya Hoshino (Author), Nobutake Shimojo (Author), Yoshiaki Inoue (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Wiley, 2021-11-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 2054-1058; 10.1002/nop2.1040
• Keywords: adverse event; global trigger tool; intensive care; patient safety; Nursing; RT1-120
• Source: Nursing Open, Vol 8, Iss 6, Pp 3271-3280 (2021)

Abstract Aim We investigated adverse events (AEs) in a Japanese intensive care unit (ICU) and evaluated the impact of cause‐specific AEs on mortality and length of stay. Design A retrospective observational study in the ICU of an academic hospital. Methods We reviewed medical records with the Global Trigger Tool. Results Of the 246 patients, 126 (51%) experienced one or more AEs with an incidence of 201 per 1000 patient‐days and 115 per 100 admissions. A total of 294 AEs were detected with 119 (42%) adverse drug events, 67 (24%) procedural complications, 63 (22%) surgical complications, 26 (9%) nosocomial infections, 5 (2%) therapeutic errors and 4 (1%) diagnostic errors. Adverse event (AE) presence was associated with length of ICU stay (β = 2.85, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.09-4.61). Adverse drug events, procedural complications and nosocomial infections were strongly associated with length of ICU stay (β = 2.38, 95% CI: 0.77-3.98; β = 3.75, 95% CI: 2.03-5.48; β = 6.52, 95% CI: 4.07-8.97 respectively).