Adverse medical events are a major source of global morbidity and mortality, occurring in 10 percent of hospitalizations, according to a meta-study published in the British Medical Journal of Quality and Safety.
Researchers performed a meta-analysis of 400 articles on adverse medical events in inpatient settings written after 1976, focusing specifically on adverse drug events, hospital-acquired pneumonia, central-line associated bloodstream infections, catheter-related urinary tract infections, venous thromboembolism, falls and pressure ulcers.
Of an estimated 421 million annual global hospitalizations, adverse events occurred in approximately 43 million of these cases, resulting in the loss of 23 million disability-adjusted life years.
The study concludes that healthcare quality and patient safety must become international priorities.
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