Litigation in thyroid surgery: a pan-specialty review of National Health Service (UK) data.

OBJECTIVE: Thyroid surgery carries risks that significantly impact patients. This paper describes the landscape of thyroid surgery related litigation claims in the National Health Service from April 2015 to April 2020, to establish learning points in order to improve patient care and minimise litigation risk. METHODS: Data were requested from National Health Service Resolution and Hospital Episode Statistics. Claims were classified into operative and non-operative causes. Subspecialty information, incident details and claim costings were analysed. RESULTS: Sixty claims were identified. Thirty-eight claims (63.3 per cent) were closed, with an average total claim cost of £68 816 and average damages paid of £36 349. Claims related to diagnostic issues were most common (n = 19); of claims associated with operative causes (n = 30), those relating to nerve injury were most common (n = 8), with issues of nerve monitoring and consent being cited. CONCLUSION: Utilisation of well-established protocols will likely reduce litigation in thyroid surgery, as we move towards a landscape in which the patient journey is thoroughly scrutinised for targeted improvements.

Litigation in pediatric otorhinolaryngology: Lessons in improving patient care.

OBJECTIVE(S): Medico-legal claims involving children place a substantial financial burden on health services and have a profound emotional and psychological impact on clinicians. Our objective was to analyze both the common causes and cost of litigation in pediatric otorhinolaryngology. METHODS: A retrospective review of all clinical negligence claims within pediatric otolaryngology (0-17 years inclusive) in NHS (National Health Service) England held by the clinical negligence service 'NHS Resolution between' 4/2013 and 4/2020. RESULTS: There were 100 claims in pediatric otorhinolaryngology accounting for an estimated potential total cost of just under £49 million with an average of 14 claims per year. Over half (52%) of claims were related to an operation with cause codes "Operator Error/Intra-Op Problem", "Diathermy Injury" and "Failure to Warn - Consent" most cited. The most common operation cited in a claim was tonsillectomy with an average cost per claim of £47,084. There were 21 claims coded as either "failure to diagnose" or "failure to treat" in relation to cholesteatoma, with an average cost per claim of £61,086. CONCLUSION: This is the largest study to date analyzing the reasons and potential cost of clinical negligence claims within pediatric otolaryngology. Many learning opportunities exist to reduce patient morbidity, mortality and improve the patient experience through litigation data analysis.

Hospital dentistry litigation in England: clinical negligence claims against the NHS 2015-2020.

Introduction Litigation against the NHS in England is rising. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence and characteristics of hospital dentistry clinical negligence claims in England.Methods A retrospective review was undertaken of all clinical negligence claims in England held by NHS Resolution relating to hospital dentistry between April 2015 and April 2020. Analysis was performed using the information for cause, patient injury and claim cost.Results A total of 492 claims were identified, with an estimated potential cost of £14 million. The most frequent causes for clinical negligence claims included failure/delay in treatment (n = 175; £3.9 million), inappropriate treatment (n = 56; £1.8 million) and failure to warn/obtain informed consent (n = 37; £1.5 million). Wrong site surgery was cited in 33 claims. The most frequent injury reported was dental damage (n = 197; £4.3 million), unnecessary pain (n = 125; £2.3 million) and nerve damage (n = 52; £2.4 million).Conclusion Clinical negligence claims in hospital dentistry are related to several different aspects of patient management and are not limited to treatment complications alone. Human ergonomics and patient perception of dentistry cannot be controlled but a focus on patient safety measures and effective communication can serve as tools to combat these factors.

An Analysis of a National Administrative Dataset Demonstrating No Evidence of Increase in Elective Primary Total Hip Arthroplasty Dislocation Rates When Postoperative Hip Precautions are Not Used.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study is to determine whether there is a higher dislocation rate when postoperative hip precautions are not used for primary total hip arthroplasty (THA). METHODS: A survey was conducted of the hip precautions used by orthopaedic departments in England performing elective primary THA. From the responses to the survey an interrupted time series analysis was performed using the hospital admissions data from the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) database during the period April 1, 2011 to December 31, 2019 and subsequent dislocations of these prostheses up to June 30, 2020. These were used to determine dislocations within 180 days of primary surgery and emergency readmissions within 30 days of discharge. RESULTS: Records were reviewed from 229,057 patients receiving primary, elective THA across 114 hospitals. In total, 1,807 (0.8%) dislocations were recorded within 180 days of surgery. There were 12,416 (5.4%) emergency readmissions within 30 days of surgery. Within hospitals where hip precautions were stopped, the proportion of patients having a dislocation was 0.8% both before and after stopping precautions, with a significant postintervention trend towards fewer dislocations (P < .001). There was also a significant immediate change in median length of stay from 4 to 3 days (P < .001) but no significant trend in the proportion of emergency readmissions within 30 days. CONCLUSION: There is no evidence of an increase in early dislocation or 30-day readmission rates after stopping traditional postoperative hip precautions in primary THA. Potential reductions in length of stay will reduce the risks associated with an extended hospital admission, improve service efficiency, and reduce costs.

Variability in COVID-19 in-hospital mortality rates between national health service trusts and regions in England: A national observational study for the Getting It Right First Time Programme.

BACKGROUND: A key first step in optimising COVID-19 patient outcomes during future case-surges is to learn from the experience within individual hospitals during the early stages of the pandemic. The aim of this study was to investigate the extent of variation in COVID-19 outcomes between National Health Service (NHS) hospital trusts and regions in England using data from March-July 2020. METHODS: This was a retrospective observational study using the Hospital Episode Statistics administrative dataset. Patients aged ≥ 18 years who had a diagnosis of COVID-19 during a hospital stay in England that was completed between March 1st and July 31st, 2020 were included. In-hospital mortality was the primary outcome of interest. In secondary analysis, critical care admission, length of stay and mortality within 30 days of discharge were also investigated. Multilevel logistic regression was used to adjust for covariates. FINDINGS: There were 86,356 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 included in the study, of whom 22,944 (26.6%) died in hospital with COVID-19 as the primary cause of death. After adjusting for covariates, the extent of the variation in-hospital mortality rates between hospital trusts and regions was relatively modest. Trusts with the largest baseline number of beds and a greater proportion of patients admitted to critical care had the lowest in-hospital mortality rates. INTERPRETATION: There is little evidence of clustering of deaths within hospital trusts. There may be opportunities to learn from the experience of individual trusts to help prepare hospitals for future case-surges.

Otorhinolaryngology litigation in England: 727 clinical negligence cases against the National Health Service.

INTRODUCTION: Litigation against the National Health Service (NHS) in England is rising. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence and characteristics of otorhinolaryngology clinical negligence claims in England. METHODS: A retrospective review was undertaken of all clinical negligence claims in England held by NHS Resolution relating to otorhinolaryngology between April 2013 and April 2018. Analysis was performed using information for cause, patient injury and claim cost. Where claim information was adequately detailed, the authors categorised claims by subspecialty, diagnosis and surgery. RESULTS: A total number of 727 claims were identified with an estimated potential cost of £108 million. Out of these, 463 were closed claims. Including open claim reserves, the mean cost of a claim was £148 923. Head and neck surgery was the subspecialty with the highest number of claims (n = 313, 43%) and highest cost (£51.5 million) followed by otology (n = 171, £24.5 million) and rhinology (n = 171, £13.6 million). Over half of claims were associated with an operation (n = 429, 59%) where mastoid surgery (n = 46) and endoscopic sinus surgery (n = 46) were equally associated with the greatest number of claims. The most frequent causes for clinical negligence claims included failure or delay to diagnose (n = 178, 25%), failure or delay to treat (n = 136, 19%), intra-operative complications (n = 130, 18%) and failure of the consent process (n = 107, 15%). DISCUSSION: Clinical negligence claims in otorhinolaryngology are related to several different components of patient management and are not limited to postoperative complications. This study highlights the importance of robust pathways in out-patient diagnostics and the consenting process in order to deliver better patient care and reduce the impact of litigation. Keywords informed consent, malpractice, clinical negligence claims, litigation, otolaryngology.

Total ankle replacement : comparison of the outcomes of STAR and Mobility.

Total Ankle Replacement is a recognised treatment for end-stage ankle arthritis and an alternative to arthrodesis. This study reviews a single centre series of prospectively collected outcome measures to determine whether the Mobility performs better than the Scandinavian ankle replacement. The primary outcome measure was the survivorship. Secondary outcome measures consisted of complications and international scoring systems. 147 Scandinavian and 162 Mobility ankle replacements were reviewed at a mean follow up of 12.4 and 7.7 years respectively. The revision rate, which included liner exchange, component exchange or removal of implant was at 7 years 12.3% (18) for Scandinavian and 5.2% (8) for Mobility. The complication rate was 16.5% (22) for Scandinavian compared to 9.9 % (15) for Mobility. The results of our unit compare favourably with previous published studies. In this study the Mobility has been shown to have more favourable results at 7 years compared to the Scandinavian.

Correction to: Can spinal surgery in England be saved from litigation: a review of 978 clinical negligence claims against the NHS.

Unfortunately, the first author name was incorrectly published in the original publication. The complete correct name is given as below.

Can spinal surgery in England be saved from litigation: a review of 978 clinical negligence claims against the NHS.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to evaluate the true incidence of all clinical negligence claims against spinal surgery performed by orthopaedic spinal surgeons and neurosurgeons in the National Health Service (NHS) in England, including both open and closed claims. METHODS: This study was a retrospective review of 978 clinical negligence claims held by NHS Resolution against spinal surgery cases identified from claims against 'Neurosurgery' and 'Orthopaedic Surgery'. This category included all emergency, trauma and elective work and all open and closed cases without exclusion between April 2012 and April 2017. RESULTS: Clinical negligence claims in spinal surgery were estimated to cost £535.5 million over this five-year period. There is a trend of both increasing volume and estimated costs of claims. The most common causes for claims were 'judgement/timing' (512 claims, 52.35%), 'interpretation of results/clinical picture' (255 claims, 26.07%), 'unsatisfactory outcome to surgery' (192 claims, 19.63%), 'fail to warn/informed consent' (80 claims, 8.13%) and 'never events' including 'wrong site surgery' or 'retained instrument post-operation' (26 claims, 2.66%). A sub-analysis of 3 years including 574 claims revealed the most prevalent pathologies were iatrogenic nerve damage (132 claims, 23.00%), cauda equina syndrome (CES) (131 claims, 22.82%), inadequate decompression (91 claims, 15.85%), iatrogenic cord damage (72 claims, 12.54%), and infection (51 claims, 8.89%). CONCLUSIONS: The volume and costs of clinical negligence claims is threatening the future of spinal surgery. If spinal surgery is to continue to serve the patients who need it, most thorough investigation, implementation and sharing of lessons learned from litigation claims must be systematically carried out. These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material.

Comparison of intra-operative regimes of tranexamic acid administration in primary total hip replacement.

The administration of tranexamic acid to decrease blood loss in primary total hip replacement is established. In this observational study three different regimes of tranexamic acid were used to investigate the effects of combined intravenous and topical administration of tranexamic acid to a single intravenous bolus given at induction or closure. Group 1 (n = 50) received 1 g tranexamic acid intravenously at induction and 500 mg tranexamic acid topically during closure. Group 2 (n = 50) received 1 g tranexamic acid intravenously at induction. Group 3 (n = 50) received 1 g tranexamic acid at closure. The mean haemoglobin loss was 2.83 g/dL (95% Confidence interval [CI] 2.51 to 3.15 g/dL) in Group 1, 2.92 g/dL (95% CI 2.65 to 3.19 g/dL) in Group 2 and 3.36 g/dL (95% CI 2.94 to 3.77 g/dL) in Group 3. No significant difference in mean haemoglobin loss was found (p = 0.123). In this observational, non-randomised study we found no additional advantage to giving topical tranexamic acid at closure in addition to intravenous tranexamic acid given at induction.

Scapular fracture following electronic muscle stimulation.

We present the case of a transverse fracture of the scapula resulting from the use of electronic muscle stimulation (EMS): highlighting the dangers of these devices that are commonly used for massage and body-building purposes.