Voluntary anonymous Critical Incident Reporting System in a large pediatric intensive care unit. Analysis of 189 reports concerning 231 incidents

Objective: Medical errors are an important problem in all hospitalized populations. Critical incident reporting systems (CIRS) are an important method to improve systems of care and enhance patient safety. We implemented a voluntary anonymous reporting system for critical incidents in March 2001 in a large paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) in order to evaluate and identify common errors. Methods: From March 2001 to January 2008 231 critical incidents, adverse events, medical errors and near-miss errors were reported by medical staff of the PICU. A structured form was used to report events. We measured number…