Table 3.

Timing, Severity, and Preventability of All Adverse Events (AEs) and Those Detected by Term Searching

AE Type	Gold Standard* (%)	Identified Using Term Search Method (%)
All	48 (100%)	11 (100%)
AE occurred prior to admission	31 (65%)	5 (46%)
Severe (resulting in death or permanent disability)	9 (19%)	3 (27%)
Preventable	18 (38%)	3 (27%)
Adverse drug event	26 (54%)	5 (46%)
Operative complication	11 (23%)	4 (36%)
Nosocomial infection	10 (20%)	2 (18%)
Diagnostic error	4 (8%)	1 (9%)
Procedural complication	5 (10%)	2 (18%)
System errors†	4 (8%)	0 (0%)

Although the number of events is small, the characteristics of the adverse events identified using the gold standard are similar to the characteristics of the subset identified by the screening method.

^*The gold standard was a two-stage chart review.

^†System errors were due to poorly designed systems such as inadequate training, poorly designed protocols, or inadequate or defective equipment.