A study published in the journal Pediatrics found that nearly half (45 percent) of pediatric patient harms were potentially or definitely preventable.
For the study, researchers evaluated 600 patient charts from six academic children's hospitals for patients discharged during February 2012. From the 600 charts, 240 patient harms were identified, and at least one harm was identified in 146 patients, or 23.4 percent.
Additionally, of the 240 total patient harms, 108 were deemed potentially or definitely preventable.
The most common patient harms for inpatient pediatric patients were:
- Intravenous catheter infiltrations/burns
- Respiratory distress
- Constipation
- Pain
- Surgical complications