Adverse Events Occur in More Than One-Third of Patients Admitted for Surgery

THURSDAY, Nov. 14, 2024 (HealthDay News) — More than one-third of patients admitted to the hospital for surgery have adverse events, with more than half potentially preventable, according to a study published online Nov. 13 in The BMJ.

Antoine Duclos, M.D., Ph.D., from Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues conducted a multicenter, retrospective cohort study in 11 U.S. hospitals involving a random sample of 1,009 adults admitted for surgery during 2018 to estimate the frequency, severity, and preventability of adverse events associated with perioperative care. Trained nurses reviewed all records and flagged admissions with possible adverse events; physicians then adjudicated these events, confirming the occurrence and characteristics.

The researchers identified adverse events in 38.0 percent of the 1,009 patients reviewed, with major adverse events occurring in 15.9 percent. Of the 593 adverse events, 59.5 and 20.7 percent were potentially preventable and definitely or probably preventable, respectively. The most common adverse events were related to surgical procedures, adverse drug events, health care-associated infections, patient care events, and blood transfusion reactions (49.3, 26.6, 12.4, 11.2, and 0.5 percent, respectively). Adverse events occurred most often in general care units, operating rooms, intensive care units, recovery rooms, emergency departments, and other in-hospital locations (48.8, 26.1, 13.0, 3.3, 1.8, and 7.0 percent, respectively). Attending physicians, nurses, residents, advanced-level practitioners, and fellows were the professions most involved (89.5, 58.9, 49.5, 28.5, and 11.5 percent, respectively).

“The findings of this study suggest that adverse events remain frequent and preventable in surgery, rendering perioperative care as a high-risk environment for patients,” the authors write.

Abstract/Full Text

Editorial