Surgical adverse events

A systematic review of surgical adverse events published in the American Journal of Surgery found 14.4% of surgical patients experienced some sort of adverse event, 38% of which were potentially preventable. Out of those preventable events, most were associated with perioperative management, not intraoperative surgical management. These included diagnostic errors, inadequate monitoring, and medication/anesthesia errors. Wound problems were the most frequent potentially preventable surgical adverse event. The authors conclude that most patient safety efforts have been concentrated in the operating room, but attention should also be focused on all facets of perioperative care.