title: [Surgical adverse events in three Mexican public health institutions].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To measure the prevalence of adverse events (AE) in surgical adult patients from the main public health institutions in Mexico.
  
  
  METHODS
  A two stage retrospective medical record review was carried out. A total of 6 119 medical records were randomly selected. The medical records were evaluated by a doctor. Logistic regression was used to identify likely associated variables.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The AE prevalence was 4.1%. There were no significant differences by sex or institution. The patients 65 years or older who are served in big hospitals have more risk of suffering an AE. Patients with an AE remained in the hospital an average of nine more days than those without one.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  According to our results, in 2008 there were at least 128 400 AE in Mexico. It is necessary to develop further studies to investigate the main factors associated to surgical adverse events and to improve patient safety.
authors.affiliation: Dirección General de Evaluación del Desempeño, Secretaría de Salud, México DF. dayana.pineda@salud.gob.mx
authors.forename: Dayana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pineda-Pérez
authors.forename: Esteban
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Puentes-Rosas
authors.forename: Nubia Jazmín
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Rangel-Chávez
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Garrido-Latorre
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006779:Hospitals, Public; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies