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Search results for "Active Errors"

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Cases & Commentaries

Delayed Recognition of a Positive Blood Culture

  • Web M&M

Sarah Doernberg, MD, MAS; July 2017

A woman was discharged with instructions to complete an antibiotic course for C. difficile. The same day, the microbiology laboratory notified the patient's nurse that her blood culture grew Listeria monocytogenes, a bacterium that can cause life-threatening infection. However, the result was not communicated to the medical team prior to discharge.

Journal Article > Study

A national implementation project to prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infection in nursing home residents.

Mody L, Greene MT, Meddings J, et al. JAMA Intern Med. 2017 May 19; [Epub ahead of print].

Catheter-associated urinary tract infections are considered preventable never events. This pre–post implementation project conducted in long-term care facilities employed a multimodal intervention, similar to the Keystone ICU project. This sociotechnical approach included checklists, care team education, leadership engagement, communication interventions, and patient and family engagement. The project was conducted over a 2-year period across 48 states. In adjusted analyses, this effort led to a significant decrease in catheter-associated urinary tract infections, despite no change in catheter utilization, suggesting that needed use of catheters became safer. A related editorial declares this project "a triumph" for AHRQ's Safety Program for Long-term Care.

Journal Article > Study

Innovative use of the electronic health record to support harm reduction efforts.

Hyman D, Neiman J, Rannie M, Allen R, Swietlik M, Balzer A. Pediatrics. 2017;139:e20153410.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services no longer reimburses hospitals for certain hospital-acquired conditions—an increasingly recognized source of preventable harm to patients. Researchers describe how they were able to reduce harm resulting from hospital-acquired conditions at their institution by more than 30% through improved use of electronic health record data and reporting tools.

Audiovisual

The War on Error: Common Diagnostic Errors.

Medscape. 2016–2017.

Improving diagnosis has recently been recognized as a primary focus for patient safety. This collection highlights particular clinical areas of concern such as neurology and infectious disease. The articles offer expert commentary and review strategies to avoid common reasoning errors.

Journal Article > Review

Economic evaluation of quality improvement interventions for bloodstream infections related to central catheters: a systematic review.

Nuckols TK, Keeler E, Morton SC, et al. JAMA Intern Med. 2016;176:1843-1854.

Central line–associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) represent a key source of preventable harm to patients, and they are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Prior research has shown that interventions to reduce CLABSIs result in significant cost savings to the health system but may decrease profit margins for hospitals. This systematic review examined the economic value of quality improvement efforts to reduce CLABSIs and catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs). Based on results from 15 studies, investigators concluded that hospital spending on CLABSI and CRBSI prevention efforts is worthwhile, leading to significant hospital savings as well as marked reductions in bloodstream infections. A PSNet perspective discussed the role of infection prevention in patient safety.

Cases & Commentaries

One Dose, Two Errors

  • Web M&M

Gregory A. Filice, MD; December 2016

An older woman experienced acute kidney injury after being prescribed a nephrotoxic medication (amphotericin) intended for the ICU patient in the next bed. Caring for both patients, the covering resident entered the medication order for the wrong patient despite a policy requiring infectious disease consultation to prescribe IV amphotericin.

Book/Report

Global Guidelines on the Prevention of Surgical Site Infection.

Allegranzi B, Bischoff P, de Jonge S, et al; WHO Guidelines Development Group. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2016. ISBN: 9789241549882.

Efforts to reduce surgical site infections have achieved some success. The World Health Organization has taken a leading role in eliminating health care–associated harms and has compiled guidelines to address factors that contribute to surgical site infections in preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative care. The document includes recommendations for improvement informed by the latest evidence.

Cases & Commentaries

Unexpected Drawbacks of Electronic Order Sets

  • Web M&M

John D. McGreevey III, MD; November 2016

A transition from paper orders to CPOE left out an important safety reminder, resulting in mismanagement of an elderly patient's low potassium and magnesium levels. This led to a fatal arrhythmia. The paper-based electrolyte order set had provided a reminder that magnesium replacement should accompany potassium replacement; however, in the computerized system, a separate order set was necessary for each electrolyte.

Newspaper/Magazine Article

More than half a million heart surgery patients at risk of a dangerous infection.

Sun LH. The Washington Post. October 13, 2016.

Medical devices can contribute to the spread of health care–associated infections. This news article discusses a government report that raises concerns that patients may have been exposed to a deadly bacterial infection related to an essential piece of equipment used in cardiac surgery worldwide. The resulting infection can be difficult to diagnosis as symptoms may remain dormant for months after the initial exposure.

Cases & Commentaries

Lapse in Antibiotics Leads to Sepsis

  • Web M&M

Mitchell Levy, MD; October 2016

Administered antibiotics in the emergency department and rushed to the operating room for emergent cesarean delivery, a pregnant woman was found to have an infection of the amniotic sac. After delivery, she was transferred to the hospital floor without a continuation order for antibiotics. Within 24 hours, the inpatient team realized she had developed septic shock.

Audiovisual

Making health care safer. Think sepsis. Time matters.

CDC Vital Signs. August 23, 2016.

Delayed diagnosis of sepsis can have serious consequences. This article and accompanying set of infographics spotlight the importance of prompt identification and treatment of sepsis and suggest how providers, organizations, patients, and families can help improve recognition of sepsis.

Journal Article > Commentary

Incorporating quality and safety values into a CLABSI simulation experience.

Liebrecht CM, Lieb MC. Nurs Forum. 2017;52:118-123.

Simulation has been promoted as a way to teach nurses about potential errors in their practice. This commentary describes the development of a program to help nurses recognize and correct weaknesses in their care processes that increase risk of central line–associated bloodstream infection.

Book/Report

The Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Ebola Crisis: A Perfect Storm of Human Errors, System Failures and Lack of Mindfulness.

Anderson-Fletcher E, Vera D, Abbott J. Houston, TX: Hobbs Center for Public Policy, University of Houston; 2015.

The high-profile misdiagnosis of a patient with Ebola in the United States serves as a key example of how system factors can contribute to diagnostic error. This analysis of the incident breaks down what happened and explores how attention to mindfulness and organizational culture can improve the safety of care processes.

Cases & Commentaries

Amphotericin Toxicity

  • Web M&M

Jerod Nagel, PharmD, and Eric Nguyen; October 2015

A woman who had recently had her left lung removed for aspergilloma presented to the outpatient clinic with pain, redness, and pus draining from her sternotomy site. She was admitted for surgical debridement and prescribed IV liposomal amphotericin B for aspergillus. Hours into the IV infusion, the patient developed nausea, vomiting, sweating, and shivering, and it was discovered that she had been given conventional amphotericin B at the dose intended for the liposomal formulation, representing a 5-fold overdose.

Book/Report

The Expert Panel Report to Texas Health Resources Leadership on the 2014 Ebola Events.

  • Classic

Cortese D, Abbott P, Chassin M, Lyon GM III, Riley WJ. Dallas, TX: Texas Health Resources Leadership; 2015.

Delayed diagnosis of infectious disease can negatively affect patients, care teams, and public health. Reviewing insights from a panel analysis of the well-known incident involving delayed diagnosis of Ebola virus, this report highlights the need to improve information transfer and emergency department safety culture to enhance diagnostic and infection prevention processes.

Journal Article > Study

Impact of stewardship interventions on antiretroviral medication errors in an urban medical center: a three year, multi-phase study.

Zucker J, Mittal J, Jen SP, Cheng L, Cennimo D. Pharmacotherapy. 2016;36:245-251.

At baseline, nearly half of patients prescribed antiretroviral treatment for HIV at a university hospital had at least one medication error and 38% had uncorrected errors at discharge. Introducing education and computerized provider order entry only slightly decreased those rates. Launching a stewardship program with prospective audits and feedback in the third year of the study reduced errors at discharge to 12%.

Journal Article > Study

Diagnostic errors that lead to inappropriate antimicrobial use.

Filice GA, Drekonja DM, Thurn JR, Hamann GM, Masoud BT, Johnson JR. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2015;36:949-956.

Overuse of antibiotics is a major factor in the development of certain types of health care–associated infections. This retrospective study found that unnecessary antibiotic use was often a result of diagnostic error, particularly in patients who were empirically treated for urinary tract infections without clear diagnostic evidence. The results of this study imply that addressing diagnostic uncertainty should be a component of antimicrobial stewardship programs.

Newspaper/Magazine Article

Once easily recognized, signs of measles now elude young doctors.

Brown E, Lin RG II R, Xia R. Los Angeles Times. January 26, 2015.

In light of the recent outbreak of measles in California, this newspaper article reports on how lack of familiarity with measles among clinicians can contribute to diagnostic errors and spread of the disease.

Newspaper/Magazine Article

ER doctor discusses role in Ebola patient's initial misdiagnosis.

Dunklin R, Thompson S. Dallas Morning News. December 6, 2014.

This news article reports on the widely publicized delayed diagnosis of Ebola at a Dallas hospital and reveals previously undisclosed details from the emergency room physician who misdiagnosed the patient when he first presented, including information and communication gaps that may have contributed to the failure.

Journal Article > Commentary

Ebola US Patient Zero: lessons on misdiagnosis and effective use of electronic health records.

Upadhyay DK, Sittig DF, Singh H. Diagnosis (Berl). 2014;1:283.

Misdiagnosis and errors linked to electronic health records (EHRs) are common concerns in patient safety. This commentary examines these elements in the context of the first Ebola case in the United States to reveal weaknesses in emergency department care, disaster management, and diagnostic processes. The case analysis highlights challenges associated with forming diagnoses and the usability of EHRs as decision support tools.

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