Recording and classification of complications in a surgical practice.
OBJECTIVE
To document the incidence and outcome of complications in the department of surgery.


METHODS
Retrospective study.


METHODS
District hospital, The Netherlands.


METHODS
7455 patients operated on between 1 January 1993 and 31 December 1995.


METHODS
Documentation and outcome of complications (defined as "every unwanted development in the illness of the patient or in the treatment of the patient's illness that occurs in the clinic").


RESULTS
1078 complications were recorded after 8130 operations (13%), 337 (33%) of which had no long term effects. 175/1078 (16%) required reoperation, and in 134 of these (77%) an error in management or surgical technique was responsible for the complication. 6 patients were irreversibly harmed and of the 141 patients who died, 11 had evidence of some sort of error.


CONCLUSIONS
Audit of complications is necessary to improve practice in a surgical department, and weekly morbidity and mortality meetings are a good opportunity for learning about them.
Veen
M R
MR
Department of Surgery, Rode Kruis Ziekenhuis, The Hague, The Netherlands.
Lardenoye
J W
JW
Kastelein
G W
GW
Breslau
P J
PJ
D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D012189:Retrospective Studies