Why the study?
Does the occurrence of medical errors or adverse events increase mortality and length of stay in ICU patients?
Does the occurrence of medical errors or adverse events increase mortality and length of stay in ICU patients?
Medical errors and adverse events in the ICU are associated with significantly prolonged hospital and ICU lengths of stay, though the increase in mortality was not statistically significant.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Associated longer stays support error-prevention research; leaves open mortality effect and causal confirmation.
Adverse events and medical errors (AEs/MEs) are more likely to occur in the intensive care unit (ICU). Information about the incidence and outcomes of such events is conflicting. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to examine the effects of MEs/AEs on mortality and hospital and ICU lengths of stay among ICU patients. Potentially eligible studies were identified from 4 major databases. Of 902 studies screened, 12 met the inclusion criteria, 10 of which are included in the quantitative analysis. Patients with 1 or more MEs/AEs (vs no MEs/AEs) had a nonsignificant increase in mortality (odds ratio = 1.5; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.98-2.14) but significantly longer hospital and ICU stays; the mean difference (95% CI) was 8.9 (3.3-14.7) days for hospital stay and 6.8 (0.2-13.4) days for ICU. The ICU environment is associated with a substantial incidence of MEs/AEs, and patients with MEs/AEs have worse outcomes than those with no MEs/AEs.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Ahmed et al. (2013) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 10 related papers. Consider them for comparative context: