Analysis of Safety Incidents and Implementation of Recommendations in Spanish Pediatric Emergency Departments: Results of a Multicenter Study.

Abstract

Objectives: There are few studies in the literature that analyze which methods are most commonly used to analyze safety incidents in pediatric emergency departments (PEDs) and which recommendations are established. The main objective of this study was to identify the incidents most frequently reported in PEDs and their characteristics. The secondary objectives were to analyze the factors that may influence the occurrence of adverse events, identify the tools most commonly used in incident analysis, and analyze the safe practices most frequently recommended.

Methods: A retrospective multicenter study was conducted involving hospitals belonging to the RISEUP network. Incidents that occurred between January and December 2024 in the different participating centers reported through a computerized registration system were included.

Results: A total of 580 incidents were reported, involving 17 hospitals. The most frequently reported incidents were miscellaneous, followed by medication, with dosing errors being the most common subtype. A total of 190 adverse events occurred. A recommendation was made in 397 (68.4%) of the reported incidents; most of them were weak in terms of strength, based on communication with staff, new operating procedures, and health education. When stratifying the strength by harm severity, weak recommendations remained the predominant in all the categories of harm. A total of 86.1% of the recommendations were implemented.

Conclusions: In most of the reported incidents, a recommendation was made and implemented. However, most recommendations were classified as weak in terms of their potential to improve patient safety, highlighting the need for the development and adoption of more robust safety interventions in pediatric emergency departments.