Letter to the Editor: Surgical Complication Incidence

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Letter to the Editor:
Surgical Complication Incidence

Pa Patient Saf Advis 2008 Mar;5(1):2.

In our hospital Patient Safety Committee, we recently had a discussion about the incidence of surgical complications and specifically whether there is any variation according to the day of the week. There is a commonly held belief that in manufacturing, more errors occur on Mondays.

I am hoping that the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Advisory may have the information to answer this question as it may have some impact upon staffing paradigms for hospitals. It does have implications for hospital and resident staffing.

Chris D. Tzarnas, M.D.
Director of Surgery
Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital
Darby, Pennsylvania

Editor’s Note

The PA-PSRS’ analysts thought your question would be of general interest and have information available from prior analyses that can partially answer the question you pose. We had reviewed 1,784 reports of technical errors by surgeons in the operating room between June 28, 2004, and June 30, 2005. Looking at the date of the event by day of the week, we note no apparent difference in distribution, except weekends:

Sunday: 3%

Monday: 18%

Tuesday: 20%

Wednesday: 20%

Thursday: 19%

Friday: 17%

Saturday: 4%

We do not have denominators indicating the number of procedures done on each day, so there remains a possibility that the rates are different in the unexpected event that the number of operations fluctuates noticeably among weekdays.

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Letter to the Editor: Surgical Complication Incidence

	THE PENNSYLVANIA PATIENT SAFETY AUTHORITY AND ITS CONTRACTORS
	The Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority is an independent state agency created by Act 13 of 2002, the Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error (“Mcare”) Act. Consistent with Act 13, ECRI Institute, as contractor for the Authority, is issuing this publication to advise medical facilities of immediate changes that can be instituted to reduce Serious Events and Incidents. For more information about the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority, see the Authority’s Web site at www.patientsafetyauthority.org .
	ECRI Institute, a nonprofit organization, dedicates itself to bringing the discipline of applied scientific research in healthcare to uncover the best approaches to improving patient care. As pioneers in this science for nearly 40 years, ECRI Institute marries experience and independence with the objectivity of evidence-based research. More than 5,000 healthcare organizations worldwide rely on ECRI Institute’s expertise in patient safety improvement, risk and quality management, and healthcare processes, devices, procedures and drug technology.
	The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated solely to medication error prevention and safe medication use. ISMP provides recommendations for the safe use of medications to the healthcare community including healthcare professionals, government agencies, accrediting organizations, and consumers. ISMP’s efforts are built on a nonpunitive approach and systems-based solutions.