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Missed nursing care appears to be associated with higher rates of adverse events. More than 3,600 registered nurses (RNs) were surveyed about missed care during labor and birth in the United States. Three aspects of nursing care were reported missing by respondents: thorough review of prenatal records, missed timely documentation of maternal-fetal assessments, and failure to monitor input and output.

Patients transferred from hospitals to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) are vulnerable to adverse events. This scoping review identified common extrinsic factors contributing to adverse events among older adults during rehabilitation stays at skilled nursing facilities, including inappropriate medication usage, polypharmacy, environmental hazards, poor communication between staff, lack of resident safety plans, and poor quality of care due to racial bias, organizational issues, and administrative issues.

Surgical site infections (SSI) are a common, yet largely preventable, complication of surgery which can result in increased length of stay and hospital readmission. In this review of 57 studies, the cumulative incidence of SSI was 11% in adult general surgical patients and was associated with increased length of stay (with variation by types of surgery).

Patient boarding in the emergency department (ED) can result in patient harm. This review explored the association between boarding in the ED and quality of care, outcomes, and adverse events. Increased boarding time was associated with poorer quality of care and outcomes.

Research has shown that patients admitted to the hospital on the weekend may experience worse outcomes compared to those admitted on weekdays (the ‘weekend effect’). This editorial highlights the challenges to empirically evaluate the underlying mechanisms contributing to the weekend effect. The authors propose viewing the weekend effect as a proxy for staffing levels and the influence of other factors influencing outcomes for patients admitted on weekends, such as patient acuity, clinician skill-mix and access to diagnostic tests or other ancillary services.

Starting in 2015, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has required hospitals to report adherence to the Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock Early Management Bundle (SEP-1). This study examined sepsis patient encounters at one health system two years before and two years after SEP-1 implementation. Results indicate variable changes in process measures but no improvement in clinical outcomes. The authors suggest revising the measure with more flexible guidelines that allow clinician discretion may improve patient outcomes.

Communication is an essential component of safe patient care. This review of 71 studies found that communication training interventions in obstetrics can improve communication skills and behavior, particularly when combined with team training. The authors identified a lack of evidence regarding the effect of communication trainings on patient safety outcomes and suggest that future research should assess this relationship. Study findings underscore the need for adequate communication trainings to be provided to all staff and expectant mothers and their partners.

Unexpected death or serious disability of a newborn is considered a never event. A cross-sectional analysis including over 5 million births between 2011 and 2017 in the United States found unexpected newborn death was associated with a significant increase in use of procedures to avert or mitigate fetal distress and newborn complications (e.g., cesarean delivery, antibiotic use for suspected sepsis). These findings could reflect increased caution among clinicals or indicate more proactive attempts to identify and address potential complications.  

Common nursing procedures, such as bathing patients in their beds, can result in physiologic changes or accidental displacement of medical devices that may be dangerous to the patient. This study of 254 intensive care patients across Western Europe found that serious adverse events occurred in half of patients during bed bathing.

Emergency department triage systems are intended to prioritize patients based on illness severity, but inappropriate triage can result in delays in care and adverse events. Conducted at a single emergency department (ED) in Italy, this study found that nurse-led triage errors occurred in 16.3% of patients and were associated with longer emergency department and hospital stays.

Naloxone administration in inpatient and outpatient settings is used to mitigate the effects of opioid overdose. This study, conducted at one academic medical center, found that an increasing number prehospital naloxone doses for suspected opioid overdose was significantly associated with an increased likelihood of adverse events (AEs) in the emergency department (ED).

Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) and central catheter-associated blood stream infections (CLABSI), are common complications in hospitalized patients, particularly among critically-ill children. Using surveillance data from January 2013 to June 2018, the authors did not identify any significant changes in CLABSI rates in NICUs or PICUs.  These trends indicate that past gains in CLABSI rates have held, without evidence of further improvement.  The authors noted modest improvements in CAUTI rates, observing a significant decrease in CAUTI rates in the PICU, corresponding with a significant decrease in indwelling urinary catheter use.

Many factors can contribute to early, unplanned readmissions among critical care patients. In this prospective cohort study, adult patients who were discharged directly home after an ICU admission were followed for 8 weeks post-discharge to explore the predictors of adverse events and unplanned return visits to a health care facility. Among 129 patients, there were 39 unplanned return visits. Researchers identified eight predictors of unplanned return visits including prior substance abuse, hepatitis, discharge diagnosis of sepsis, ICU length of stay exceeding 2 days, nursing workload, and leaving against medical advice.  

This cohort explored the mental health impacts of a universal COVID-19 testing program on asymptomatic pregnant women and labor and delivery health care workers. Among multiparous women who tested negative, nearly 35% reported that COVID-19 led to additional fear or anxiety postpartum compared with previous deliveries. Labor and delivery health care workers reported that COVID-19 decreased job satisfaction and increased job-related anxiety.

This study reviewed medical malpractice claims data between 2007 and 2016 to describe the types of patient safety events involving critical care nurses. Decubitus ulcers were the most common diagnosis in claims involving ICU nurses and compared to nurses in emergency departments and operating rooms, ICU nurses were likely to have a malpractice claim alleging failure to monitor.

This study examined the association of inpatient harms (e.g., infections, medication-related harms) and 30-day readmissions through a retrospective analysis of adult surgical patients in a single heath system over a two year period. The authors found that the harms with the highest 30-day readmission rates were pressure ulcers (45%), central line-associated bloodstream infections (40%), Clostridium difficile infections (29%), international normalized ratio >5 for patients taking Warfarin (26%), and catheter-associated urinary tract infections. The authors also described the accuracy of a risk prediction model to identify high-risk patients for 30-day admissions.  

Over 1,000 nurses across 40 medical/surgical or telemetry units throughout seven hospitals were surveyed about perceptions on safety culture, patient advocacy, patient experience, and fall and pressure ulcer rates. Survey results indicated a positive correlation between safety culture and advocacy; however, this relationship was moderated by nursing experience, with newer nurses being more positive about safety culture and advocacy compared to experienced nurses.