title: Evaluation of a pilot surgical adverse event detection system for Italian hospitals.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To devise an adverse event (AE) detection system and assess its validity and utility.
  
  
  METHODS
  Observational, retrospective study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Six public hospitals in Northern Italy including a Teaching Hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eligible cases were all patients with at least one admission to a surgical ward, over a 3-month period.
  
  
  METHODS
  Computerized screening of administrative data and review of flagged charts by an independent panel.
  
  
  METHODS
  Number of records needed to identify an AE using this detection system.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Out of the 3310 eligible cases, 436 (13%) were extracted by computerized screening. In addition, out of the 2874 unflagged cases, 77 randomly extracted records (3%) were added to the sample, to measure unidentified cases. Nursing staff judged 108 of 504 (21%) charts positive for one or more criteria; surgeons confirmed the occurrence of AEs in 80 of 108 (74%) of these. Compared with random chart review, the number of cases needed to detect an AE, with the computerized screening suggested by this study, was reduced by two-thirds, although sensitivity was low (41%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This approach has the potential to allow the timely identification of AEs, enabling to quickly devise interventions. This detection system could be of true benefit for hospitals that intend assessing their AEs.
authors.affiliation: Research and Innovation Unit, Parma Teaching Hospital, Italy. ccaminiti@ao.pr.it
authors.forename: Caterina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Caminiti
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Diodati
authors.forename: Donatella
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bacchieri
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Carbognani
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Del Rio
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Iezzi
authors.forename: Dante
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Palli
authors.forename: Isabella
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Raboini
authors.forename: Erica
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vecchione
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cisbani
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008485:Medical Audit; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000639:trends*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017751:Safety Management; D013503:Surgery Department, Hospital