National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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- Adverse Drug Events (ADE) (5)
- (-) Adverse Events (16)
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- Clinician-Patient Communication (1)
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AHRQ Research Studies
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Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
Results
1 to 16 of 16 Research Studies DisplayedIantorno SE, Scaife JH, Bryce JR
Emergency department utilization for pediatric gastrostomy tubes across the United States.
This study investigated the number and nature of emergency department (ED) visits to community hospitals for pediatric gastrostomy tube complication. The authors used the 2019 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample to perform a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of pediatric patients (<18 y) with a primary diagnosis of gastrostomy tube complication. Their primary outcome was a potentially preventable ED visit, defined as an encounter that did not result in any imaging, procedures, or an inpatient admission. They observed 32,036 ED visits at 535 hospitals and 15,165 (47.3%) were potentially preventable. Median age was 2 years, and 17,707 (55%) were male. Compared to White patients, patients with higher odds of potentially preventable visits were Black and Hispanic. Patients with residential zip codes in the first, second, and third median household income quartiles had higher odds of potentially preventable visits compared to the highest.
AHRQ-funded; HS025776.
Citation: Iantorno SE, Scaife JH, Bryce JR .
Emergency department utilization for pediatric gastrostomy tubes across the United States.
J Surg Res 2024 Mar; 295:820-26. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2023.11.028.
Keywords: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Children/Adolescents, Emergency Department, Healthcare Utilization, Surgery, Adverse Events
Auerbach AD, Lee TM, Hubbard CC
Diagnostic errors in hospitalized adults who died or were transferred to intensive care.
The objective of this retrospective cohort study was to determine the prevalence, underlying causes, and harms of diagnostic errors in hospitalized adults who were transferred to an intensive care unit or who died. Data was taken from 29 academic medical centers in the U.S. in a random sample of adults hospitalized with general medical conditions. Errors were found to have contributed to temporary harm, permanent harm, or death in nearly 18% of patients; among patients who died, diagnostic error was judged to have contributed to death in 6.6% of cases. The researchers noted that problems with choosing and interpreting tests and the processes involved with clinician assessment were a high priority for improvement efforts.
AHRQ-funded; HS027369.
Citation: Auerbach AD, Lee TM, Hubbard CC .
Diagnostic errors in hospitalized adults who died or were transferred to intensive care.
JAMA Intern Med 2024 Feb; 184(2):164-73. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2023.7347..
Keywords: Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Medical Errors, Hospitals, Inpatient Care, Quality of Care, Patient Safety, Adverse Events
Dalal AK, Schnipper JL, Raffel K
Identifying and classifying diagnostic errors in acute care across hospitals: early lessons from the Utility of Predictive Systems in Diagnostic Errors (UPSIDE) study.
This paper describes the Utility of Predictive Systems in Diagnostic Errors (UPSIDE) study, whose aim was to define the prevalence and underlying causes of diagnostic errors (DEs) in patients who die in the hospital or are transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU) after the first 48 hours. This study was conducted at 31 hospitals with more than 2500 cases reviewed using electronic health records. The authors identified some insights into key requirements into building a robust DE surveillance program by developing these steps: 1) Develop a shared understanding of what constitutes a diagnostic error; 2) Use validated tools to identify diagnostic errors and classify process failures, but respect your context; 3) Develop a standard approach to using electronic health records for case reviews; 4) Ensure reliability and consistency of the case review process; and 5) Link diagnostic error case reviews to institutional safety programs. They also developed steps to establish a diagnosis error review process at the hospital level with six processes.
AHRQ-funded; HS027369; HS026613.
Citation: Dalal AK, Schnipper JL, Raffel K .
Identifying and classifying diagnostic errors in acute care across hospitals: early lessons from the Utility of Predictive Systems in Diagnostic Errors (UPSIDE) study.
J Hosp Med 2024 Feb; 19(2):140-45. doi: 10.1002/jhm.13136..
Keywords: Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Medical Errors, Adverse Events, Patient Safety, Quality of Care, Hospitals
Loi MV, Lee JH, Huh JW
Ketamine use in the intubation of critically ill children with neurological indications: a multicenter retrospective analysis.
This study examined use of ketamine in children undergoing tubal intubation (TI) for a primary neurological indication. The authors conducted a retrospective observational cohort study of critically ill children undergoing TI for neurological indications in 53 international pediatric intensive care units and emergency departments. They screened all intubations from 2014 to 2020 entered into the multicenter National Emergency Airway Registry for Children (NEAR4KIDS) registry database. Of 21,562 TIs, 2,073 were performed for a primary neurological indication, including 190 for traumatic brain injury/trauma. Patients received ketamine in 495 TIs (23.9%), which increased from 10% in 2014 to 41% in 2020. Criteria for ketamine use includes a coindication of respiratory failure, difficult airway history, and use of vagolytic agents, apneic oxygenation, and video laryngoscopy. Composite adverse outcomes were reported in 289 (13.9%) TIs and were more common in the ketamine group (17.0% vs. 13.0%). After adjusting for location, patient age and co-diagnoses, the presence of respiratory failure and shock, difficult airway history, provider demographics, intubating device, and the use of apneic oxygenation, vagolytic agents, and neuromuscular blockade, ketamine use was not significantly associated with increased composite adverse outcomes. This paucity of association remained even when only neurotrauma intubations were considered (10.6% vs. 7.7%).
AHRQ-funded; HS022464, HS024511.
Citation: Loi MV, Lee JH, Huh JW .
Ketamine use in the intubation of critically ill children with neurological indications: a multicenter retrospective analysis.
Neurocrit Care 2024 Feb; 40(1):205-14. doi: 10.1007/s12028-023-01734-0.
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Critical Care, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Patient Safety
Hendren S, Ameling J, Rocker C
Validation of measures for perioperative urinary catheter use, urinary retention, and urinary catheter-related trauma in surgical patients.
This article described a retrospective cohort study to analyze the effects of non-infectious urinary catheter-related complications, such as measurements of indwelling urinary catheter overuse, catheter-related trauma, and urinary retention. Participants were 200 patients who were undergoing general surgery operations; 65% had an indwelling urinary catheter placed at the time of surgery, 16% had urinary retention, and 6% had urinary trauma. The authors concluded that this study suggests a persistent high rate of catheter use, significant rates of urinary retention and trauma, and variation in the management of retention.
AHRQ-funded; HS026912.
Citation: Hendren S, Ameling J, Rocker C .
Validation of measures for perioperative urinary catheter use, urinary retention, and urinary catheter-related trauma in surgical patients.
Am J Surg 2024 Feb; 228:199-205. doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2023.09.027.
Keywords: Surgery, Adverse Events, Patient Safety
Newman-Toker DE, Nassery N, Schaffer AC
Burden of serious harms from diagnostic error in the USA.
Americans who experience serious harm from misdiagnosis annually. Serious harm is defined as permanent morbidity or morality. This cross-sectional analysis used nationally representative observational data. The authors estimated annual incident vascular events and infections from 21.5 million (M) sampled US hospital discharges (2012-2014). US-based cancer registries were used to find annual new cancers. They derived diagnostic errors and serious harms by multiplying by literature-based rates for disease-specific incidences for 15 major vascular events, infections and cancers ('Big Three' categories). Extrapolating to all diseases (including non-'Big Three' dangerous disease categories), they estimated total serious harms annually in the USA to be 795,000 (plausible range 598,000-1,023,000). Using more conservative assumptions they estimated 549,000 serious harms. These results were compatible with setting-specific serious harm estimates from inpatient, emergency department and ambulatory care. Fifteen dangerous diseases accounted for 50.7% of total serious harms and the top 5 (stroke, sepsis, pneumonia, venous thromboembolism and lung cancer) accounted for 38.7%.
AHRQ-funded; HS027614; HS029350.
Citation: Newman-Toker DE, Nassery N, Schaffer AC .
Burden of serious harms from diagnostic error in the USA.
BMJ Qual Saf 2024 Jan 19; 33(2):109-20. doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2021-014130..
Keywords: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Medical Errors, Patient Safety, Quality of Care, Adverse Events
Carroll AR, Johnson JA, Stassun JC
Health literacy-informed communication to reduce discharge medication errors in hospitalized children: a randomized clinical trial.
This study’s objective was to test a health literacy-informed communication intervention to decrease liquid medication dosing errors compared with standard counseling in hospitalized children. This parallel, randomized clinical trial was conducted from June 22, 2021, to August 20, 2022, at a tertiary care, US children's hospital. English- and Spanish-speaking caregivers of hospitalized children 6 years or younger prescribed a new, scheduled liquid medication at discharge were included in the analysis. Observed dosing errors were the main outcome measured, and secondary outcomes included caregiver-reported medication knowledge. Among 198 randomized caregivers (mean age 31.4 years; 186 women [93.9%]; 36 [18.2%] Hispanic or Latino and 158 [79.8%] White), the primary outcome was available for 151 (76.3%). The observed mean (SD) percentage dosing error was 1.0% (2.2 percentage points) among the intervention group and 3.3% (5.1 percentage points) among the standard counseling group (absolute difference, 2.3 percentage points). Twenty-four of 79 caregivers in the intervention group (30.4%) measured an incorrect dose compared with 39 of 72 (54.2%) in the standard counseling group. The intervention enhanced caregiver-reported medication knowledge compared with the standard counseling group for medication dose (71 of 76 [93.4%] vs 55 of 69 [79.7%]), duration of administration (65 of 76 [85.5%] vs 49 of 69 [71.0%], and correct reporting of 2 or more medication adverse effects (60 of 76 [78.9%] vs 13 of 69 [18.8%]).
AHRQ-funded; HS026122.
Citation: Carroll AR, Johnson JA, Stassun JC .
Health literacy-informed communication to reduce discharge medication errors in hospitalized children: a randomized clinical trial.
JAMA Netw Open 2024 Jan 2; 7(1):e2350969. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.50969..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Health Literacy, Communication, Medication, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Medical Errors, Clinician-Patient Communication, Hospital Discharge, Medication: Safety
Cohen TN, Berdahl CT, Coleman BL
Medication safety event reporting: Factors that contribute to safety events during times of organizational stress.
This study’s objective was to understand the insights conveyed in hospital incident reports about how work system factors affected medication safety during a coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) surge. The authors randomly selected 100 medication safety incident reports from an academic medical center (December 2020 to January 2021), identified near misses and errors, and classified contributing work system factors using the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System-Healthcare. Results showed that among 35 near misses/errors, incident reports described contributing factors (mean 1.3/report) involving skill-based errors (n = 20), communication (n = 8), and tools/technology (n = 4). Seven of these events were linked to COVID-19.
AHRQ-funded; HS027455.
Citation: Cohen TN, Berdahl CT, Coleman BL .
Medication safety event reporting: Factors that contribute to safety events during times of organizational stress.
J Nurs Care Qual 2024 Jan-Mar; 39(1):51-57. doi: 10.1097/ncq.0000000000000720..
Keywords: Medication: Safety, Medication, Patient Safety, COVID-19, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Medical Errors
Kyler KE, Hall M, Antoon JW
Major drug-drug interaction exposure among Medicaid-insured children in the outpatient setting.
This study’s objective was to determine the prevalence of major drug-drug interactions (DDI) exposure and factors associated with higher DDI exposure rates among children in an outpatient setting. The authors performed a cross-sectional study of children aged 0 to 18 years with ≥1 ambulatory encounter, and ≥2 dispensed outpatient prescriptions using the 2019 Marketscan Medicaid database. Primary outcomes were the prevalence and rate of major DDI exposure. Out of 781,019 children with ≥2 medication exposures, 21.4% experienced ≥1 major DDI exposure. The odds of exposure increased with age and with medical and mental health complexity. Frequently mentioned drugs included Clonidine, psychiatric medications, and asthma medications. The highest adverse physiologic effect exposure rate per 100 children included: increased drug concentrations (14.6), central nervous system depression (13.6), and heart rate-corrected QT interval prolongation (9.9).
AHRQ-funded; HS028979.
Citation: Kyler KE, Hall M, Antoon JW .
Major drug-drug interaction exposure among Medicaid-insured children in the outpatient setting.
Pediatrics 2024 Jan; 153(2):e2023063506. doi: 10.1542/peds.2023-063506.
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Medicaid, Medication: Safety
Starmer AJ, Sectish TC, Simon DW
Rates of medical errors and preventable adverse events among hospitalized children following implementation of a resident handoff bundle.
The researchers sought to determine whether introduction of a multifaceted handoff program was associated with reduced rates of medical errors and preventable adverse events, fewer omissions of key data in written handoffs, improved verbal handoffs, and changes in resident-physician workflow. They found that implementation of a handoff bundle was associated with a significant reduction in medical errors and preventable adverse events among hospitalized children.
AHRQ-funded; HS019456.
Citation: Starmer AJ, Sectish TC, Simon DW .
Rates of medical errors and preventable adverse events among hospitalized children following implementation of a resident handoff bundle.
JAMA 2013 Dec 4;310(21):2262-70. doi: 10.1001/jama.2013.281961..
Keywords: Medical Errors, Adverse Events, Children/Adolescents, Hospitalization, Patient Safety
Letourneau AR, Calderwood MS, Huang SS
Harnessing claims to improve detection of surgical site infections following hysterectomy and colorectal surgery.
The researchers conducted retrospective cohort studies at 2 academic medical centers, extending analyses of patients undergoing hysterectomy or colorectal surgery. They concluded that claims-enhanced surveillance can help to identify surgical site infections (SSIs) missed by routine surveillance, identifying nearly twice as many SSIs following hysterectomy and 4 times more SSIs following colorectal surgery.
AHRQ-funded; HS021424.
Citation: Letourneau AR, Calderwood MS, Huang SS .
Harnessing claims to improve detection of surgical site infections following hysterectomy and colorectal surgery.
Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2013 Dec;34(12):1321-3. doi: 10.1086/673975..
Keywords: Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs), Injuries and Wounds, Surgery, Patient Safety, Adverse Events, Women, Digestive Disease and Health
Boothe DL, Coplowitz S, Greenwood E
Transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF-beta1) is a serum biomarker of radiation induced fibrosis in patients treated with intracavitary accelerated partial breast irradiation: preliminary results of a prospective study.
This study examined a relationship between serum transforming growth factor b-1 (TGF-b1) values and radiation-induced fibrosis (RIF). The results suggest that serum TGF-b1 levels before surgery, and during radiation therapy, and after radiation therapy could signal whether a patient is at risk for the development of moderate to severe RIF.
AHRQ-funded; HS016075.
Citation: Boothe DL, Coplowitz S, Greenwood E .
Transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF-beta1) is a serum biomarker of radiation induced fibrosis in patients treated with intracavitary accelerated partial breast irradiation: preliminary results of a prospective study.
Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2013 Dec 1;87(5):1030-6. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2013.08.045..
Keywords: Adverse Events, Cancer, Cancer: Breast Cancer, Risk
Waters TM, Chandler AM, Mion LC
Use of International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification, codes to identify inpatient fall-related injuries.
The researchers compared falls and fall-related injuries that a fall evaluator or hospital incident report identified with injuries identified according to discharge ICD-9-CM codes for the same set of inpatient episodes of care. They found that the CMS-targeted ICD-9-CM codes used to identify fall-related injuries in claims data do not always detect the most-serious falls.
AHRQ-funded; HS020627.
Citation: Waters TM, Chandler AM, Mion LC .
Use of International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification, codes to identify inpatient fall-related injuries.
J Am Geriatr Soc 2013 Dec;61(12):2186-91. doi: 10.1111/jgs.12539..
Keywords: Falls, Elderly, Patient Safety, Inpatient Care, Adverse Events
Katz DF, Sun J, Khatri V
QTc interval screening in an opioid treatment program.
This pilot study supports the feasibility of implementing a population-based electrocardiographic monitoring program in order to decrease the QTc interval in high-risk patients undergoing methadone maintenance in an opioid treatment program. Clinical characteristics alone were inadequate to identify patients in need of electrocardiographic screening.
AHRQ-funded; HS021138
Citation: Katz DF, Sun J, Khatri V .
QTc interval screening in an opioid treatment program.
Am J Cardiol. 2013 Oct 1;112(7):1013-8. doi: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2013.05.037..
Keywords: Opioids, Medication, Substance Abuse, Screening, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Medication: Safety, Risk, Implementation
Hempel S, Newberry S, Wang Z
AHRQ Author: Spector WD
Hospital fall prevention: a systematic review of implementation, components, adherence, and effectiveness.
The authors sought to document systematically the implementation, components, comparators, adherence, and effectiveness of published fall prevention approaches in U.S. acute care hospitals. They found that most interventions included multiple components, and the pooled postintervention incidence rate ratio (IRR) was 0.77. They found no systematic association between implementation intensity, intervention complexity, comparator information, or adherence levels and IRR. They concluded that promising approaches exist, but better reporting of outcomes, implementation, adherence, intervention components, and comparison group information is necessary to establish evidence on how hospitals can successfully prevent falls.
AHRQ-authored; AHRQ-funded; 290201000017I.
Citation: Hempel S, Newberry S, Wang Z .
Hospital fall prevention: a systematic review of implementation, components, adherence, and effectiveness.
J Am Geriatr Soc 2013 Apr;61(4):483-94. doi: 10.1111/jgs.12169.
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Keywords: Adverse Events, Falls, Hospitals, Patient Safety, Prevention
O'Leary KJ, Devisetty VK, Patel AR
Comparison of traditional trigger tool to data warehouse based screening for identifying hospital adverse events.
This study compared a traditional trigger tool with an enterprise data warehouse (EDW) based screening method to detect hospital adverse events (AEs). The authors found relatively poor agreement between traditional trigger tool and EDW based screening with only approximately a third of all AEs detected by both methods. They recommended a combination of complementary methods as the optimal approach to detecting AEs among hospitalized patients.
AHRQ-funded; HS019630.
Citation: O'Leary KJ, Devisetty VK, Patel AR .
Comparison of traditional trigger tool to data warehouse based screening for identifying hospital adverse events.
BMJ Qual Saf 2013 Feb;22(2):130-8. doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2012-001102.
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Keywords: Adverse Events, Hospitals, Medical Errors, Patient Safety, Quality Indicators (QIs)