Frequency and Type of Situational Awareness Errors Contributing to Death and Brain Damage A Closed Claims Analysis

Background Situational awareness errors may play an important role in the genesis of patient harm. The authors examined closed anesthesia malpractice claims for death or brain damage to determine the frequency and type of situational awareness errors.Methods Surgical and procedural anesthesia death and brain damage claims in the Anesthesia Closed Claims Project database were analyzed. Situational awareness error was defined as failure toperceive relevant clinical information, failure tocomprehend the meaning of available information, or failure toproject, anticipate, or plan. Patient and case characteristics, primary damaging events, and anesthesia payments in claims with situational awareness errors were compared to other death and brain damage claims from 2002 to 2013.Results Anesthesiologist situational awareness errors contributed to death or brain damage in 198 of 266 claims (74%). Respiratory system damaging events were more common in claims with situational awareness errors (56%) than other claims (21%,P
Source: Anesthesiology - Category: Anesthesiology Source Type: research