Adverse events detected by clinical surveillance on an obstetric service.

This study used a trained observer to monitor obstetric patients for potential adverse events. Based on a predefined set of 72 triggers (eg, admission to intensive care unit, stat cesarean delivery, staff unavailability), the observer captured relevant information about the events, which were later analyzed by a multidisciplinary team. Investigators identified more than 100 triggers, and while very few serious adverse events were described, a number of potential adverse events raised questions about system problems. The authors advocate for use of their methodology to complement existing mechanisms in collecting information on adverse events.