[Surgical adverse events in three Mexican public health institutions]. / Eventos quirúrgicos adversos en tres instituciones públicas de salud mexicanas.

OBJECTIVE: To measure the prevalence of adverse events (AE) in surgical adult patients from the main public health institutions in Mexico. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A two stage retrospective medical record review was carried out. A total of 6 119 medical records were randomly selected. The medical records were evaluated by a doctor. Logistic regression was used to identify likely associated variables. RESULTS: The AE prevalence was 4.1%. There were no significant differences by sex or institution. The patients 65 years or older who are served in big hospitals have more risk of suffering an AE. Patients with an AE remained in the hospital an average of nine more days than those without one. CONCLUSION: According to our results, in 2008 there were at least 128 400 AE in Mexico. It is necessary to develop further studies to investigate the main factors associated to surgical adverse events and to improve patient safety.

Eventos quirúrgicos adversos en tres instituciones públicas de salud mexicanas / Surgical adverse events in three Mexican public health institutions

OBJETIVO. Cuantificar la prevalencia de eventos adversos (EA) en pacientes quirúrgicos adultos atendidos en instituciones públicas de México. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS. Se evaluaron 6 119 expedientes clínicos de pacientes quirúrgicos seleccionados aleatoriamente. La prevalencia de EA se estimó mediante la aplicación de dos instrumentos secuenciales por parte de médicos capacitados. Se efectuó análisis multivariado por regresión logística para identificar variables asociadas. RESULTADOS. La prevalencia de EA fue de 4.1 por ciento. No existieron diferencias significativas por institución ni sexo. Los pacientes mayores de 64 años y los atendidos en hospitales grandes presentaron mayor riesgo de tener un EA. Los pacientes con EA permanecieron hospitalizados en promedio nueve días más que aquellos sin EA. 62 por ciento de los EA fueron considerados prevenibles. CONCLUSIÓN. La prevalencia encontrada significa que, durante el 2008, se presentaron por lo menos 128 400 EA quirúrgicos en México. Es necesario seguir investigando la naturaleza de estos últimos para mejorar la seguridad de los pacientes.

OBJECTIVE. To measure the prevalence of adverse events (AE) in surgical adult patients from the main public health institutions in Mexico. MATERIAL AND METHODS. A two stage retrospective medical record review was carried out. A total of 6 119 medical records were randomly selected. The medical records were evaluated by a doctor. Logistic regression was used to identify likely associated variables. RESULTS. The AE prevalence was 4.1 percent. There were no significant differences by sex or institution. The patients 65 years or older who are served in big hospitals have more risk of suffering an AE. Patients with an AE remained in the hospital an average of nine more days than those without one. CONCLUSION. According to our results, in 2008 there were at least 128 400 AE in Mexico. It is necessary to develop further studies to investigate the main factors associated to surgical adverse events and to improve patient safety.