The occurrence of adverse events is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in children admitted to a single pediatric intensive care unit

Abstract

Healthcare can cause harm. The goal of this study is to evaluate the association between the occurrence of adverse events (AEs) and morbidity–mortality in critically ill children. A prospective cohort study was designed. All children admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) between August 2016 and July 2017 were followed. An AE was considered any harm associated with a healthcare-related incident. AEs were identified in two steps: first, adverse clinical incidents (ACI) were recognized through direct observation and active surveillance by PICU physicians, and then the patient safety committee evaluated every ACI to define which would be considered an AE. The outcome was hospital morbidity–mortality. There were 467 ACI registered, 249 (53.31%) were considered AEs and the rate was 4.27/100 patient days. From the 842 children included, 142 (16.86%) suffered AEs, 39 (4.63%) experienced morbidity–mortality: 33 (3.92%) died, and 6 (0.71%) had morbidity. Multivariate analysis revealed that the occurrence of AEs was significantly associated with morbidity–mortality, OR 5.70 (CI95% 2.58–12.58, p = 0.001). This association was independent of age and severity of illness score. Conclusion: Experiencing AEs significantly increased the risk of morbidity–mortality in this cohort of PICU children.What is Known:• Many children suffer healthcare-associated harm during pediatric intensive care hospitalization.What is New:• This prospective cohort study shows that experiencing adverse events during pediatric intensive care hospitalization significantly increases the risk of morbidity and mortality independent of age and severity of illness at admission.