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of adverse events. It is important to appreciate that when an adverse event occurs, we may be quick to judge or to blame the actions or omissions of individuals, but careful inquiry usually shows that deficiencies in our systems are also at fault. We have learnt much from other industries in this respect. Investigation of major disasters such as the Chernobyl nuclear explosion, the Space Shuttle Challenger crash, and the Paddington rail accident identified ‘violations of procedure’ or problems resulting from actions or omissions by people at the scene. However, further analysis of these events revealed ‘latent conditions’21 further upstream in the process, which allowed these violations to occur and have such a devastating effect. ‘Latent conditions’ are often a result of gradual and unintentional erosion of safety‐enhancing processes because of other pressures: for example, cutting training budgets to reduce costs. Further in the background are often deeply ingrained cultural and organizational issues, some of which may be elusive and difficult to resolve. Of course, it is very well to learn about the underlying causes of these non‐healthcare‐related disasters, but the question that most clinicians will ask at this stage is how they are relevant to us. Although healthcare is similar to these industries in some respects, such as the high level of inherent risks and the presence of well‐meaning and dedicated staff, it is very different in others, such as diversity, often non‐centralized administration, uncertainty, and unpredictability.

      Human error

      Sources: Mills6; Brennan, et al.7; Wilson, et al.8; Thomas, et al.9; Vincent, Neale, and Woloshynowych10; Davis, et al.11; Baker, et al.12; Forster, et al.13; Michel, et al.14; Sari, et al.15; Sousa, et al.16; Rafter, et al.17; Nilsson, et al.18

Study Year No. of subjects No. (proportion, %) of elderly subjects Definition of elderly (years) Overall adverse event rate (%) Incidence in elderly (%) Incidence in young (%) Difference
California (Mills) 1977 20,864 3826 (18.34%) ≥65 4.65 7.22±0.82 4.07±0.30 p < 0.05
Harvard (Brennan) 1991 30,121 4980 (16.53%) ≥65 3.7 Standardized for DRG 5.7±0.6 2.6±0.2 (16–44 yrs) p < 0.0001
Australia (Wilson) 1995 14,210 3945 (27.76%) ≥65 16.6 23.3 Mean 13.75 Not given
Utah and Colorado (Thomas) 2000 15,000 Not stated ≥65 2.9±0.2 All adverse events 5.29±0.37 All adverse events 2.80±0.18 p = 0.001
UK (Vincent) 2001 1014 342 (33.73%) ≥65 10.8 18.13 (62/342) 7.25 (48/662) p < 0.001
New Zealand (Davis) 2002 6579 1967 (29.9%) ≥65 11.2 17.6 (346/1967) 10.93 (504/4612) Not given
Canada (Ross‐Baker) 2004 3745 Not stated Not stated 7.5 Mean age of patient with adverse events 64.9 (SD 16.7) vs. 62.0 (SD 18.4) yrs, p = 0.016
Ottawa (Forster) 2004 502 126 (25.1%) >72 12.7 22.22 (28/126) 9.57 (36/376) p < 0.001
France (Michel) 2007 8754 Not stated Not stated 6.6 per 1000 days of hospitalization Mean age of those experiencing adverse events = 63 yrs, 61.7 yrs for those who did not (p = 0.5)
UK (Sari) 2007 1006 332 (33.0%) ≥75 8.7 13.5 (95% CI 9.8–17.2) 6.2 (95% CI 4.4–8.0) p < 0.001
Portugal (Sousa) 2014 1669 Not stated >65 11.1 19.3 (59% of adverse events in >65 years) 8.2 Not stated

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