Adverse events are common in neurosurgery. Their reporting is inconsistent and widely variable due to nonuniform definitions, data collection mechanisms, and retrospective data collection. Historically, neurosurgery has lagged behind general and cardiac surgical fields in the creation of multi-institutional prospective databases allowing for benchmarking and accurate adverse event/outcomes measurement, the bedrock of evidence used to guide quality improvement initiatives. The National Neurosurgery Quality and Outcomes Database has begun to address this issue by collecting prospective, multi-institutional outcomes data in neurosurgical patients. Once reliable outcomes exist, various targeted quality improvement strategies may be used to reduce adverse events and improve outcomes.
Key points
- •
Adverse events in neurosurgery are common and their reporting is nonuniform and variable across reports and institutions; retrospective data tend to underestimate the rate of adverse events.
- •
The National Neurosurgery Quality and Outcomes Database (N2QOD) is a prospective, multi-institutional database in its pilot form that allows the generation of national normative data for outcomes and adverse events and allows for interinstitutional benchmarking.
- •
The results of primary research should be synthesized to guide the formation of standards and guidelines that can serve as the evidence basis for targeted quality improvement initiatives.
- •
Targeted quality improvement initiatives can reduce adverse events and improve outcomes; quality improvement initiatives differ based on the nature of the adverse event targeted and range from technical education to systems-based protocols and checklists.
Related posts:
Stay updated, free articles. Join our Telegram channel
Full access? Get Clinical Tree
