Study of incidental errors that occur in the intensive care unit of Ghazi Al-Hariri Teaching Hospital

This study aims to estimate the rate of incidental errors (InE) in the intensive care unit (ICU) and assess the impact of these errors on patient mortality. A prospective cohort study was conducted in the ICU of a tertiary hospital. The study included InE that occurred during patients' admission to the ICU. A total of 1026 cases were admitted to the ICU; InE happened in 142 cases (13.84%). The total number of deaths was 306 cases (29.8% of total admissions), with 40 cases (28.2%) dying in the InE group. In the InE group, there is no difference in age, sex, and cause of admission regarding mortality. The reason for admission of those cases with adverse events was variable; the most common cause of admission was medical conditions requiring ICU, followed by traumatic brain injury and postoperative observation. Regarding the intervention required, the use of a bronchoscope and paracentesis was significantly associated with increased mortality, while receiving plasma pheresis was significantly associated with lower mortality. The mean APACHE II score was higher in cases that resulted in death (40.80 ± 4.72 vs 31.67 ± 8.97), with a range of 15% to 50%. Regarding incidental adverse events, bedsores were the most common adverse event in cases that resulted in death, followed by endotracheal tube blockage, tracheostomy blockage, and pneumothorax. At the same time, only blocked tubes and bed sores were significantly higher in the cases that died. The reported InE in this study were not associated with increased mortality. Mortality was more frequent in cases of blocked endotracheal tubes and cases that developed bed sores.