Adverse events in critically ill patients: a cross-sectional study.
Stefanny Furtado de Assis, Débora Feijó Villas Boas Vieira, Fernanda Raphael Escobar Gimenes de Sousa and 2 others
PMID 35551577WHAT IT FOUND
In a Brazilian adult ICU, 52.3% of 88 patients had adverse events, most often infection and pressure injury.
Longer stay, higher nursing care need, and higher severity were associated with events; staffing was below calculated need.
Key findings
01In the studied ICU, 52.3% of 88 patients had at least one adverse event, and health care-related infection was the most frequent event at 34.1%.
02Adverse events were associated with longer stay, greater care need and greater severity: stay over seven days increased the chance 10.14 times, and NAS or SAPS 3 over 50 points each increased the chance three times.
03Staffing calculations found a 20.0% nursing professional deficit when considering NAS, and a 71.4% difference in nurses.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study included 88 patients from one Brazilian adult ICU, so the event rates may not apply to other units or countries. It used retrospective clinical records and did not use a Trigger Tool, which can identify adverse events more often than traditional record review. Data collection was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic before the planned 90-day period. A single researcher collected the data from records. Nursing staff size was not statistically analysed against adverse events, so the study cannot show that staffing levels caused the adverse events.
Declared interests
The paper reports support from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) through a scientific initiation scholarship. No other conflict-of-interest statement is given.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that the nurse shortage caused the adverse events. The study did not statistically analyse nursing staff size against adverse events, and the reported associations were with length of stay, care need and severity.