Accuracy of surgical complication rate estimation using ICD-10 codes.

BACKGROUND: The ICD-10 codes are used globally for comparison of diagnoses and complications, and are an important tool for the development of patient safety, healthcare policies and the health economy. The aim of this study was to investigate the accuracy of verified complication rates in surgical admissions identified by ICD-10 codes and to validate these estimates against complications identified using the established Global Trigger Tool (GTT) methodology. METHODS: This was a prospective observational study of a sample of surgical admissions in two Norwegian hospitals. Complications were identified and classified by two expert GTT teams who reviewed patients' medical records. Three trained reviewers verified ICD-10 codes indicating a complication present on admission or emerging in hospital. RESULTS: A total of 700 admissions were drawn randomly from 12 966 procedures. Some 519 possible complications were identified in 332 of 700 admissions (47·4 per cent) from ICD-10 codes. Verification of the ICD-10 codes against information from patients' medical records confirmed 298 as in-hospital complications in 141 of 700 admissions (20·1 per cent). Using GTT methodology, 331 complications were found in 212 of 700 admissions (30·3 per cent). Agreement between the two methods reached 83·3 per cent after verification of ICD-10 codes. The odds ratio for identifying complications using the GTT increased from 5·85 (95 per cent c.i. 4·06 to 8·44) to 25·38 (15·41 to 41·79) when ICD-10 complication codes were verified against patients' medical records. CONCLUSION: Verified ICD-10 codes strengthen the accuracy of complication rates. Use of non-verified complication codes from administrative systems significantly overestimates in-hospital surgical complication rates.

Impact of the World Health Organization's Surgical Safety Checklist on safety culture in the operating theatre: a controlled intervention study.

BACKGROUND: Positive changes in safety culture have been hypothesized to be one of the mechanisms behind the reduction in mortality and morbidity after the introduction of the World Health Organization's Surgical Safety Checklist (SSC). We aimed to study the checklist effects on safety culture perceptions in operating theatre personnel using a prospective controlled intervention design at a single Norwegian university hospital. METHODS: We conducted a study with pre- and post-intervention surveys using the intervention and control groups. The primary outcome was the effects of the Norwegian version of the SSC on safety culture perceptions. Safety culture was measured using the validated Norwegian version of the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture. Descriptive characteristics of operating theatre personnel and checklist compliance data were also recorded. A mixed linear regression model was used to assess changes in safety culture. RESULTS: The response rate was 61% (349/575) at baseline and 51% (292/569) post-intervention. Checklist compliance ranged from 77% to 85%. We found significant positive changes in the checklist intervention group for the culture factors 'frequency of events reported' and 'adequate staffing' with regression coefficients at -0.25 [95% confidence interval (CI), -0.47 to -0.07] and 0.21 (95% CI, 0.07-0.35), respectively. Overall, the intervention group reported significantly more positive culture scores-including at baseline. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of the SSC had rather limited impact on the safety culture within this hospital.