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- Title
The incidence of adverse events in Swedish hospitals: a retrospective medical record review study.
- Authors
Michael Soop; Ulla Fryksmark; Max Köster; Bengt Haglund
- Abstract
: Objectives To estimate the incidence, nature and consequences of adverse events and preventable adverse events in Swedish hospitals. : Design A three-stage structured retrospective medical record review based on the use of 18 screening criteria. : Setting Twenty-eight Swedish hospitals. : Population A representative sample (n = 1967) of the 1.2 million Swedish hospital admissions between October 2003 and September 2004. : Main Outcome Measures Proportion of admissions with adverse events, the proportion of preventable adverse events and the types and consequences of adverse events. : Results In total, 12.3% (n = 241) of the 1967 admissions had adverse events (95% CI, 10.8–13.7), of which 70% (n = 169) were preventable. Fifty-five percent of the preventable events led to impairment or disability, which was resolved during the admission or within 1 month from discharge, another 33% were resolved within 1 year, 9% of the preventable events led to permanent disability and 3% of the adverse events contributed to patient death. Preventable adverse events led to a mean increased length of stay of 6 days. Ten of the 18 screening criteria were sufficient to detect 90% of the preventable adverse events. When extrapolated to the 1.2 million annual admissions, the results correspond to 105 000 preventable adverse events (95% CI, 90 000–120 000) and 630 000 days of hospitalization (95% CI, 430 000–830 000). : Conclusions This study confirms that preventable adverse events were common, and that they caused extensive human suffering and consumed a significant amount of the available hospital resources.
- Publication
International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 2009, Vol 21, Issue 4, p285
- ISSN
1353-4505
- Publication type
Academic Journal
- DOI
10.1093/intqhc/mzp025