[Incidents in ophthalmology: A National Survey in Argentina]

To perform a descriptive analysis of incidents in ophthalmology reported by ophthalmologists of Argentina.

A questionnaire-based study was performed by an electronic survey during August 2021, including ophthalmologists of Argentina, requesting the description of ophthalmological incidents, which were classified in four groups, in accordance with World Health Organization Definition, as follow: A- "Incidents, almost-accidents (patient no affected)"; B: "Incidents (patient affected without damage)"; C: "Preventable incidents, with damage", and D: "Not Preventable incidents, with damage". An instructive was supported in the survey explaining these definitions with examples of each kind of incidents. Data was processed for descriptive statistics.

The survey was performed by 264 ophthalmologists, reporting 434 incidents: A- Incidents, almost-accidents (patient not affected): 125 cases (28.8%). B- Incidents (patient affected without damage): 117 cases (27%). C- Preventable incidents, with damage: 96 cases (22.1%). D- Not Preventable incidents, with damage: 96 cases (22.1%). In four groups the most frequent incidents were those associated with the use of ophthalmic drops (68, 75, 13, and 29 incidents respectively).

Most of the incidents (77.9%) reported in this study could be avoided if appropriate safety measures were taken. Ophthalmic drops related incidents were the most frequent.