Pennsylvania Patient Safety Research Articles

2023 Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting: Updated Rates for Acute Care Event Reports

2023 Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting: Updated Rates for Acute Care Event Reports

Risk Factors for Wrong-Site Surgery: A Study of 1,166 Reports of Informed Consent and Schedule Errors

Background The accuracy of informed consent and procedural schedule are important components in a process for preventing wrong-site surgery. Methods In our study of a four-year period, we used the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System (PA-PSRS) database to explore the occurrence of consent and/or schedule errors at all licensed hospitals and ambulatory surgical facilities (ASFs) in Pennsylvania. We also evaluated the reports for consent and schedule error subtypes: side, procedure, site, and patient. Results Over a four-year period, 1,166 event reports described a consent and/or schedule error, and 86% of the reports were from hospitals and 14% were from ASFs. Among the 1,166 reports, 56% described a schedule error, 34% had a consent error, and 10% involved both error types. In the sample of reports, the frequency of error subtypes were ranked in the following sequence: side (69%), procedure (24%), site (4%), and patient (3%). The analysis also revealed similarities and differences in the distribution of error types and subtypes across hospitals and ASFs. Conclusions Based on the results, it is evident that consent and schedule errors are issues across many healthcare facilities. The findings by error subtype (side, procedure, site, patient) show some similarity in distribution with previous studies of wrong-site surgery events. We recommend that readers review Table 4 and Table 5 for a brief literature review of risk factors for consent and schedule errors and strategies for preventing and detecting the occurrence of those errors, respectively.

Free Text as Part of Electronic Health Record Orders: Context or Concern?

Background When placing orders into the electronic health record (EHR), prescribers often use free-text information to complement the order. However, the use of these free-text fields can result in patient safety issues. The objective of our study was to develop a deeper understanding of the conditions under which free-text information, or special instructions, are used in the EHR and the patient safety issues associated with their use, through an analysis of patient safety event (PSE) reports. Methods We identified 847 PSE reports submitted to the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System (PA-PSRS) between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2022; this dataset was reduced to 677 after controlling for oversampling from particular facilities. After limiting to reports that mentioned the terms “special instructions,” “order instructions,” “order comments,” or “special comments,” we analyzed a total of 329 reports. A physician and human factors expert independently reviewed the reports and assigned each a code from the following categories: general care process, medication class, information expressed in the special instruction, special instruction issue, department or staff for which special instruction was intended, and whether the error reached the patient. Results Almost three quarters of the special instruction reports were related to Medication (n=233 of 329, 70.8%), followed by Laboratory/Blood Bank (n=54, 16.4%), and Radiology (n=23, 7.0%). Medication classes most frequently associated with special instructions included infectious disease medications (n=51 of 230, 22.2%), antithrombotic/antithrombotic reversal agents (n=32, 13.9%), and nutritional/electrolytes/intravenous fluids (n=32, 13.9%). Nearly one quarter each of medication-related special instructions were about timing (n=58 of 233, 24.9%) and dosing (n=54, 23.2%); most about laboratory/blood bank were related to the site of the blood draw (n=33 of 54, 61.1%), and many involving radiology were related to radiology/echocardiography instructions (n=16 of 23, 69.6%). The most frequent issues associated with special instructions were containing information contradictory to the order or other information (n=62 of 329, 18.8%); being confusing, incorrect, or used incorrectly (n=58, 17.6%); and not seen (n=25, 7.6%), not viewable (n=11, 3.3%), or instructions absent (n=11, 3.3%). In more than half of the reports, special instructions were intended for nursing staff (n=184 of 329, 55.9%), followed by pharmacy (n=49, 14.9%), radiology (n=21, 6.4%), and laboratory/blood bank (n=20, 6.1%). The error reached the patient in roughly three quarters (n=243 of 329, 73.9%) of the reports reviewed. Conclusion Special instructions are frequently used to provide additional context about medication orders and laboratory and radiology procedures and are often intended for nurses and pharmacists. However, these instructions can result in errors and may cause patient harm. Based on our analysis, we provide EHR design strategies and policies and protocols to address patient safety issues associated with free text to enable safer and more resilient care delivery.

Alteplase- and Tenecteplase-Related Errors and Risk Mitigation Strategies in the Treatment of Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Study of Event Reports From 52 Hospitals

Background: Alteplase and tenecteplase are thrombolytic agents used to treat patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Despite the convenient bolus dosing of tenecteplase, its off-label use for AIS creates new patient safety challenges that are understudied. Methods: The study was conducted in two parts. In Part I, we queried the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System (PA-PSRS) database for event reports involving alteplase and tenecteplase that were submitted between 2017 and 2022. Based on results from Part I, in Part II we narrowed the query to reports submitted in 2021–2022 and applied inclusion criteria to identify reports that described a medication error involving the use of alteplase or tenecteplase to treat AIS. In Part II, all reports were reviewed and coded for stages of the medication-use process, associated factors, and event type. Results: Part I results (N=858) showed a decrease in reports of alteplase events and an increase in reports of tenecteplase events. In Part II (N=92), 52% of reports involved alteplase and 48% involved tenecteplase. Wrong dose was the most frequently coded event type for both medications at a combined 48%. Several tenecteplase-related events were attributed to unfamiliarity with the medication, confusion between indications, and incorrect use of the electronic health record (EHR) or failure to use the EHR, whereas many errors unique to alteplase occurred during the multistep calculation, preparation, and administration processes. Conclusions: Safety events involving alteplase and tenecteplase in the treatment of AIS are diverse. We present a list of potential strategies to prevent and mitigate errors involving these high-alert medications and encourage providers to adopt those that are meaningful to their workflow and practice setting.

Long-Term Care Healthcare-Associated Infections in 2023: An Analysis of 23,970 Reports

Background The Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System (PA-PSRS) is the largest database of patient safety event reports in the United States. In addition to over 4.7 million acute care reports, the PA-PSRS database contains more than 420,000 long-term care (LTC) healthcare-associated infection (HAI) reports. Methods LTC HAI data from PA-PSRS were extracted on March 1, 2024. Infection counts were calculated based on report submission date and rates were calculated based on infection confirmation date. Reports submitted by LTC facilities and specific care areas were included for infection rates each month if resident and device days were also entered in PA-PSRS for the facility and care area. Results A total of 23,970 infection reports were submitted by Pennsylvania’s LTC facilities in 2023, representing an 18.6% increase from 2022. The overall infection rate increased by 11.4%, from 0.88 in 2022 to 0.98 in 2023, and all six regions of the state had an increase in infection rate. The Northeast region had the highest rate, with 1.28 reports per 1,000 resident days, and the Southeast region had the lowest rate, at 0.72. The overall rate increase was driven by rates of urinary tract infection (UTI) and skin and soft tissue infection (SSTI), which increased by 20.1% and 17.4%, respectively. Within the UTI infection type, symptomatic urinary tract infection (SUTI) rates increased by 21.1% and catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) rates increased by 11.8%. Conclusion There was an increase in the total number and rate of infections reported to PA-PSRS in 2023.

Patient Safety Trends in 2023: An Analysis of 287,997 Serious Events and Incidents From the Nation’s Largest Event Reporting Database

Background The Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System (PA-PSRS) is the largest repository of patient safety data in the United States and one of the largest in the world, with over 4.7 million acute care event reports dating back to 2004. In this article, we analyze the patient safety event reports submitted to PA-PSRS in 2023. Methods We extracted data from PA-PSRS and obtained data from the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4). Report counts are based on report submission date, and rates are based on event occurrence date and calculated per 1,000 patient days for hospitals or 1,000 surgical encounters for ambulatory surgical facilities (ASFs). Results In 2023, 287,997 reports were submitted to PA-PSRS, which is a considerable increase from 2022 but very close to the 2021 total. Reports of serious and high harm events increased by 20.6% and 25.0%, respectively, representing the largest annual increases historically. Of the 287,997 reports, 96.0% were from hospitals, 3.8% were from ambulatory surgical facilities, and 0.2% were from birthing centers and abortion facilities. The vast majority (95.9%) of the 2023 reports were incidents, with the remaining 4.1% classified as serious events. The reporting rate based on event occurrence date for hospitals in the first half of 2023 was 30.0 reports per 1,000 patient days; for ASFs, the rate was 9.9 reports per 1,000 surgical encounters. For each of the past five years, the most frequently reported event type was Error Related to Procedure/Treatment/Test, which accounted for 33.1% of acute care event reports submitted in 2023. From a distribution perspective, the greatest increase in percent of total reports in 2023 occurred with event type Medication Error, and the greatest increase for serious events was with event type Complication of Procedure/Treatment/Test (P/T/T). Almost half of the increase in Complication of P/T/T was with subtype Complication following surgery or invasive procedure (48.2%; 968 of 2,009), and 54.6% (529 of 968) of reports in this subtype were due to unplanned returns to the operating room. Conclusion The number of total reports, serious events, and high harm events, as well as preliminary reporting rates for hospitals and ASFs, all increased in 2023. Patient Safety Authority will continue working with Pennsylvania healthcare facilities to support high-quality reporting and patient safety practices.

2022 Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting: Updated Rates for Acute Care Event Reports

2022 Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting: Updated Rates for Acute Care Event Reports

Long-Term Care Healthcare-Associated Infections in 2022: An Analysis of 20,216 Reports

Background The Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System (PA-PSRS) is the largest database of patient safety event reports in the United States. In addition to over 4.5 million acute care reports, the PA-PSRS database contains more than 396,000 long-term care (LTC) healthcare-associated infection (HAI) reports. Methods LTC HAI data from PA-PSRS were extracted on March 1, 2023. Reports submitted by LTC facilities and specific care areas were included for infection rates each month if resident and device days were also entered in PA-PSRS for the facility and care area. Results A total of 20,216 infections were reported in 2022, representing a 12.5% increase from 2021. Overall, the reporting rate from LTC facilities increased from 0.77 in 2021 to 0.87 in 2022. Over half (56%) of the increase in overall rate is due to an increase in the respiratory tract infection rate, with another 27% due to an increase in the gastrointestinal infection rate. All six regions of the state had an increase in overall infection rate from 2021 to 2022. The North Central region of the state had the highest overall rate, as well as the largest increase in rate, with 1.14 reports per 1,000 resident days in 2022, which is an increase of 21.3% over the 2021 rate of 0.94. The Southeast region had the lowest overall rate, at 0.67, which is an 8.1% increase from 2021. The number of reports increased for all five infection types from 2021 to 2022, with gastrointestinal infections increasing the most percentagewise, by 67.7%. Of the 14 infection subtypes, 11 had an increase in number of reports from 2021 to 2022, with influenza showing the largest increase of 857 reports. Norovirus had a larger percentage increase of 942.9%, going from 70 reported infections in 2021 to 730 in 2022. The three subtypes that decreased in number had relatively smaller changes than the increases, with the largest of the decreases occurring with C. diff, which dropped by 29 reports from 2021 to 2022. Conclusions There was an increase in the total number and rate of infections reported to PA-PSRS in 2022. Patient Safety Authority infection preventionists continue to note operational challenges in LTC facilities and are providing ongoing education and guidance to enhance infection prevention and surveillance strategies and improve reporting of HAIs.

Patient Safety Trends in 2022: An Analysis of 256,679 Serious Events and Incidents From the Nation’s Largest Event Reporting Database

Background Pennsylvania is the only state that requires acute care facilities to report all events of harm or potential for harm. The Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System (PA-PSRS) is the largest repository of patient safety data in the United States and one of the largest in the world, with over 4.5 million acute care event reports dating back to 2004. Herein, we examine patient safety event reports submitted to the PA-PSRS acute care database in 2022 and compare them to prior years. Methods We extracted data from PA-PSRS and obtained data from the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4). Counts of reports were calculated based on report submission date, and rates were calculated based on event occurrence date and calculated per 1,000 patient days for hospitals or 1,000 surgical encounters for ambulatory surgical facilities (ASFs). Results A total of 256,679 reports were submitted to PA-PSRS in 2022, representing an 11.1% decrease from 2021. Three facilities collectively submitted 18,601 fewer reports in 2022 compared to 2021, which accounted for 57.8% of the overall decrease. Reports of serious and high harm events increased by 7.7% and 11.1%, respectively. Of the 256,679 reports submitted, 95.9% were from hospitals, 3.9% were from ambulatory surgical facilities, and 0.2% were from birthing centers and abortion facilities. The vast majority of the 2022 reports were incidents (96.2%) as opposed to serious events (3.8%). For each of the past five years, the most frequently reported event type was Error Related to Procedure/Treatment/Test, accounting for 32.8% of all submitted acute care event reports in 2022. The second, third, and fourth most frequently reported event types in 2022 were Complication of Procedure/Treatment/Test, Medication Error, and Fall, accounting for 15.6%, 13.2%, and 12.8% of submitted reports, respectively. The reported event rate based on occurrence date for hospitals in the first half of 2022 was 27.5 reports per 1,000 patient days. For ASFs, the reported event rate for the first half of 2022 was 9.4 reports per 1,000 surgical encounters. Conclusions There was a decrease in the number of incident reports submitted to PA-PSRS in 2022 and an increase in serious and high harm event reports. PSA will continue to work with facilities, monitor reporting, and take further action as needed.

Assessing Equipment, Supplies, and Devices for Patient Safety Issues

Background: Medical equipment, supplies, and devices (ESD) serve a critical function in healthcare delivery and how they function can have patient safety consequences. ESD-related safety issues include malfunctions, physically missing ESDs, sterilization, and usability. Describing ESD-related safety issues from a human factors perspective that focuses on user interactions with ESDs can provide additional insights to address these issues. Methods: We manually reviewed ESD patient safety event reports submitted to the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System to identify ESD-related safety issues using a taxonomy that was informed by the Food and Drug Administration Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience taxonomy. This taxonomy consisted of the following high-level categories: malfunctions, physically missing, sterilization, and usability. The type of ESD and associated components or ESD subtypes, event classification, and care area group were noted for each report. Results: Of the 450 reports reviewed, the most frequent ESD-related safety issue coded was malfunction (n=365 of 450, 81.1%) followed by sterilization (n=40 of 450, 8.9%), usability (n=36 of 450, 8.0%), and physically missing (n=9 of 450, 2.0%). Among the coded malfunctions, software/output problem (n=122 of 365, 33.4%) was the most frequent, followed by general malfunction (n=103 of 365, 28.2%); material integrity (n=72 of 365, 19.7%); and activation, positioning, or separation (n=68 of 365, 18.6%). The most frequent ESDs noted were infusion pump, instrument set, and intravenous, and the most frequent components/subtypes noted were alarm/alert, tubing, and tray. Conclusion: ESD-related patient safety issues, especially malfunctions, impact patient care despite current policies and practices to address these issues. Healthcare facilities may be able to address some ESD-related patient safety issues during procurement through use of the accompanying procurement assessment tool.

The Hidden Risk of Wheelchair Use

Not knowing how to unfold or even sit in a wheelchair the right way can cause a catastrophic injury to patients, visitors, volunteers, and staff of a healthcare facility. Wheelchairs are one of the most common assistive devices used in healthcare facilities, from admission to discharge. They are often found at the entrance of a facility for use by both patients and visitors with mobility issues. Hospital volunteers, transport staff, and clinical staff use wheelchairs to take patients to different care areas to have tests performed. Many facilities require that patients be transported in a wheelchair upon discharge. However, not knowing the proper method of unfolding a wheelchair or where to place your hands when sitting down in the seat can cause injuries, specifically to fingers, ranging from lacerations to amputations. An analysis of reports from the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System (PA-PSRS*) over the past decade identified 12 adverse events related to finger injuries involving wheelchairs in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Additionally, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience (MAUDE) reporting system, which “houses medical device reports submitted to the FDA by mandatory reporters (manufacturers, importers and device user facilities) and voluntary reporters such as health care professionals, patients and consumers,” contains hundreds of reports involving wheelchair injuries dating back to 2012. These reports indicate different kinds of wheelchairs (e.g., manual, bariatric, transport, and motorized) from myriad manufacturers are associated with these injuries. Although the type of injury and mechanism of injury reported varies from a head injury sustained from tipping over the wheelchair to a laceration from a screw, numerous reports of adverse events involved finger injuries, which are the focus of this safety announcement.

Visitor Behaviors Can Influence the Risk of Patient Harm: An Analysis of Patient Safety Reports From 92 Hospitals

Background: Previous research has shown that visitors can decrease the risk of patient harm; however, the potential to increase the risk of patient harm has been understudied. Methods: We queried the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System database to identify event reports that described visitor behaviors contributing to either a decreased or increased risk of patient harm. Event reports from January 1 to June 30, 2019, were searched for keywords and reviewed for inclusion criteria. Event reports were manually coded to identify visitor influence on risk of patient harm (e.g., increase or decrease), visitor behavior, and event type. Results: A total of 427 event reports were analyzed and we identified five categories of visitor behavior that influenced patient safety by either decreasing or increasing the risk of patient harm. We found that 63.7% (272 of 427) of event reports described a visitor behavior that decreased the risk of patient harm and the remaining 36.3% (155 of 427) of reports described behavior that increased the risk of harm. There was a greater variety of visitor behaviors that contributed to an increased risk of patient harm, as opposed to a decreased risk of harm. The visitor behavior most frequently associated with a decreased risk of patient harm was communicating with staff (91.2%, 248 of 272); for example, to inform staff of deterioration of a patient’s condition. The visitor behavior most frequently associated with an increased risk of patient harm was moving a patient (63.2%, 98 of 155). Across the 427 event reports, we found that visitor behavior was associated with seven event types; the falls event type (61.6%, 263 of 427) and medication-related event type (14.8%, 63 of 427) occurred most frequently. Conclusion: The current study provides insight into which visitor behaviors are contributing to a decreased risk of patient harm and adds to the literature by identifying behaviors that can increase the risk of patient harm, across multiple event types. Table 6 and Table 7 outline potential safety strategies that staff and facilities may consider using to target visitor behavior. As outlined in Table 6, the use of warning and instructional signage can be a relatively low-effort and effective strategy to influence visitor behavior and address multiple behavior categories and event types.

Pediatric Dose Calculation Issues and the Need for Human Factors–Informed Preventative Technology Optimizations

Background: Dose calculation errors are one of the most common types of medication errors impacting children and they can result in significant harm. Technology-based solutions, such as computerized provider order entry, can effectively reduce dose calculation issues; however, these technologies are not always optimized, resulting in potential benefits not being fully realized. Methods: We analyzed pediatric dose-related patient safety event reports submitted to the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System using a task-analytic approach that focused on information being used in the dose calculation, calculation errors during ordering, and errors during dose preparation or administration. From these reports, we identified whether the patient was impacted by the error, the type of medication involved, and whether a technology optimization could have mitigated the issue. Results: Of the 356 reports reviewed, 326 (91.6%) met the criteria for a dose calculation issue. The 326 reports meeting criteria had the following dose calculation issue types: wrong information used in the calculation (49 of 326, 15.0%), incorrect calculation during ordering (97 of 326, 29.8%), and calculated dose was not properly used or incorrect calculation during preparation/administration (180 of 326, 55.2%). Most of these dose calculation issues impacted the patient (219 of 326, 67.2%). Analysis of these issues by patient age group and drug class also revealed interesting patterns. Technology optimizations potentially could have addressed 81.6% of the dose calculation issues identified. Conclusion: While many healthcare facilities have adopted health information technology and other devices to support the medication process, these technologies are not always optimized to address dose calculation issues. Human factors–informed recommendations, a safety checklist, and test cases for optimizing technology are provided in the context of these findings.

Impact the Implementation of Feto-Maternaltriage Program Upon Maternal Health Outcomes in Maternity Hospitals of Baghdad City

Triage is a major portion of clinical hazard administration in all divisions when clinical load surpasses clinical accessibility. (Jones,K 2006). Triage is used to sort, to direct requires clinical judgments and to rapidly assess a patient and assign a priority based on clinical need. Also triage considers as a fundamental cornerstone of clinical risk management (Mackway-Jones,k 2006). triage in obstetric area become one of the latest obstetric services to emerge.( PA-PSRS 2015 ). "In the last years, OB triage become important in the OB services in most hospitals in the world and developed a triage area adjacent to the labor and delivery department (The Pennsylvania Patient Safety Advisory 2008). According to triage protocol the women should be treated according to the severity or the acuity of the case and not the time of her arrival to the outpatient clinic. Keyword: Triage, Obstetric Triage, Maternal Outcomes

Long-Term Care Healthcare-Associated Infections in 2021: An Analysis of 17,971 Reports

Background: The Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System (PA-PSRS) is the largest repository of patient safety data in the United States. In addition to over 4.2 million acute care reports, the PA-PSRS database contains more than 375,000 long-term care (LTC) healthcare-associated infection (HAI) reports. Methods: LTC HAI data from PA-PSRS were extracted on February 10, 2022. Reports submitted by LTC facilities and specific care areas were included for infection rates each month if resident and device days were also entered in PA-PSRS for the facility and care area. Results: A total of 17,971 infections were reported in 2021, representing a 31.7% decrease from the prior year. Overall, the reporting rate from LTC facilities decreased notably, from 1.06 in 2020 to 0.78 in 2021, due in large part to a drop in respiratory tract infections, which had an infection rate of 0.431 in 2020 and 0.191 in 2021. The North Central region of the state had the highest overall infection rate, with 0.94 reports per 1,000 resident days, and the Southeast region had the lowest rate at 0.62. The number of reports decreased for all five infection types from 2020 to 2021, with respiratory tract infections decreasing the most, by 58.4%. The number of reports for all infection subtypes decreased as well, with the exception of scabies, which increased by 7.1%. Among all infection subtypes, the number of reports for lower respiratory tract infections decreased the most, with 2,553 fewer reports in 2021 than in 2020. In terms of percentage, influenza-like illness decreased the most, dropping 93.9% from 2020 to 2021. In terms of infection rate, catheter-associated urinary tract infections showed the greatest decrease, and infections involving cellulitis, soft tissue, and wounds showed the greatest increase. Conclusions: In 2021, there were notable decreases in both the infection rate and the number of infection reports submitted by Pennsylvania LTC facilities. Currently, it is unknown whether these decreases are reflective of fewer infections in LTC facilities or a lack of identifying and reporting infections, or a combination of both. Patient Safety Authority infection preventionists (IPs) continue to work with LTC IPs to provide support, education, and tools to assist them in their role.

System-Based Multidisciplinary Initiatives for Improvement in Tracheostomy Care and Safety: Experience of an Academic Health Institution Hospital Network

Tracheostomized patients represent a unique patient population at risk of life-threatening airway compromise. There can be a presumption that these patients have a “safe” or low-risk airway. Clinicians and other care providers may be unfamiliar with both tracheostomy tubes and best practices for tracheostomy maintenance, assessment, and emergency triage or resuscitation. A review of the highest- acuity emergency airway calls at our university hospital revealed that well over 20% of the emergencies that triggered these activations were in patients with existing tracheostomy tubes. Further analysis of the tracheostomy-related airway emergencies at that time was very informative. Under the auspices of our multidisciplinary airway safety committee, we developed a core tracheostomy-focused team and implemented numerous quality and safety initiatives. Here we present a focused review and discussion of tracheostomy-related clinical issues at the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS) and a summary of quality and safety improvement efforts related to the care of tracheostomized patients based on responses to locally identified safety opportunities. Our experience with tracheostomy-related quality improvement (QI) efforts led us to reach out to the Patient Safety Authority. The Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System (PA-PSRS) data presented by Gardner et al. highlights the categories of airway-related events documented across a range of facilities in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. We frame our efforts in the context of both the PA-PSRS data and international perspectives from the U.K. and highlight barriers to implementation and learnings from our iterative and interdisciplinary approach to tracheostomy-related challenges.

Tracheostomy and Laryngectomy Airway Safety Events: An Analysis of Patient Safety Reports From 84 Hospitals

Background: Tracheostomy- and laryngectomy-related airway safety events can lead to life-threatening situations, permanent harm, or death. We conducted a statewide population-based study to learn about these events and the relationship with associated factors, interventions, and outcomes to identify potential areas for improvement. Methods: We queried the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System (PA-PSRS) to find tracheostomy- and laryngectomy-related airway safety event reports involving adults age 18 years and older that occurred between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2020. Results: Reports related to tracheostomies and laryngectomies accounted for 97.3% and 2.7% of the total, respectively. The four most frequent tracheostomy-related complications were unplanned decannulations, 71.4%; uncontrolled bleeding/hemorrhage, 9.2%; and partial/total occlusion and mucus plug/thick secretions, which each accounted for 6.9%. Conclusions: Safe airway management for patients with a tracheostomy or laryngectomy requires staff who are knowledgeable and confident, and have the necessary skills and equipment to provide immediate attention when complications arise. We discuss potential safety strategies to reduce the risk of unplanned decannulations, uncontrolled bleeding/hemorrhage, and partial/total occlusions, as well as issues related to equipment, knowledge/training, and communication.

Study of Patients’ Return to Surgery Post-Tonsillectomy and/or Adenoidectomy: A Relation Between Patient Age and Timing of Uncontrolled Bleeding

Background: Tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy (T/A) are common surgical procedures. Postoperative uncontrolled bleeding is a well-established complication; however, the relation between certain variables and uncontrolled bleeding are unclear. Methods: We explored the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System database for event reports that described a patient who had a T/A procedure and later returned to surgery to control bleeding. We analyzed the post-T/A bleeding events according to numerous variables, such as patient sex and age, timing of the bleed, procedure performed (i.e., tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy), and bleeding site. Results: We identified 219 event reports from 56 healthcare facilities over a four-year period. The study revealed that 78% of the patients were discharged and then returned to surgery to control bleeding. Patients ranged in age from 1–45 years and 53% were female. Among the 219 events, 41% were a primary bleed (0–1 postoperative days) and 59% were a secondary bleed (2–30 postoperative day). Additionally, 0–1 days and 6–7 days after operation were the periods when patients most frequently returned to surgery (range of 0–30 days). We expanded upon much of the previous research by exploring the relation between patient age and days postoperative return to surgery. We found that a majority of patients in age categories 1–10, 11–20, and 21–30 years had a secondary bleed; in contrast, a majority of patients age 31–45 had a primary bleed. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that the post-T/A timing of uncontrolled bleeding may vary systematically as a function of patient age; however, future research is needed to better understand this topic. We encourage readers to use our findings, along with findings from previous research, to inform their practice and strategies to mitigate risk of patient harm.

Medication Safety in the Emergency Department: A Study of Serious Medication Errors Reported by 101 Hospitals From 2011 to 2020

Background: Although serious medication errors are uncommon, accounting for only 0.4% (166 of 46,568) of medication errors reported to the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System (PA-PSRS) in 2020, their effects can be devastating for patients and their loved ones. Methods: We queried PA-PSRS for reports of serious events classified as medication errors that occurred in the emergency department (ED) from January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2020. We performed a descriptive analysis to identify trends among patient sex, patient age, event harm score, event day of the week, and event time of day. We also manually coded and analyzed events based on the prescribed medication(s) and medication class(es), stage of the medication-use process at which the error occurred, and medication error type. Results: We identified 250 reports of serious medication error events in PA-PSRS that occurred in the ED from 2011 to 2020. Reports more often specified that the patient was female (61.2%; 153 of 250), and patients ranged in age from 8 months to 96 years, with a median patient age of 55 years. Events were significantly more likely to occur Friday through Sunday versus Monday through Thursday (p = .0214) and in the p.m. hours versus a.m. hours, (p = .0007). The most common prescribed medications mentioned in reports were epinephrine, insulin, hydromorphone, sodium chloride, heparin, propofol, diltiazem, ketamine, and morphine. Events occurred most often at the prescribing stage of the medication-use process (42.0%; 105 of 250), and the most common medication error type was a wrong dose (42.0%; 105 of 250). Conclusion: Potential safety strategies to consider to reduce the risk of medication errors in the ED include stocking epinephrine autoinjectors, using clinical decision support at the ordering/prescribing stage of the process, and adding an emergency medicine pharmacist as part of an interdisciplinary emergency medicine team.

2020 Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting: Updated Acute Care Reporting Rates

In our recent article summarizing 2020 data from acute care facilities in Pennsylvania, reporting rates and fall rates were provided for Q1 and Q2 2020 based on the latest data we had available at the time of publication. Given that 2020 was an unpredictable year in healthcare, any forecasting of rates for Q3 and Q4 2020 would have been unreliable. Therefore, this data snapshot serves to complete reporting rates for 2020 now that all hospital patient days and surgical encounters data from 2020 have been made available for rate calculations.