What are the Top Root Causes of Surgical Sentinel Events?

The following are the most common root causes between 2004 and 2013 for operative and postoperative complications, unintended retention of foreign objects and wrong-patient, wrong-site wrong-procedure sentinel events as reviewed by The Joint Commission. Sentinel events often have more than one cause, according to the data.

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Ellie Rizzo

Op/post-op complications:

Human factors — 62 percent

Communication — 53 percent
Assessment — 49 percent

Leadership — 40 percent

For a full list of top root causes for perioperative complications, object retention and wrong-surgeries, continue reading on Becker’s Hospital Review.

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