Critical Incidents Involving the Medical Emergency Team : A 5-Year Retrospective Assessment for Healthcare Improvement

BACKGROUND: Medical emergency teams (METs), which have been established in several countries, contribute to a reported decrease in deteriorated patients' in-hospital mortality. To date, no data have been published on critical incidents that occurred in METs affecting patients' safety.OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to identify and describe critical incidents that occurred during METs' activities in a large academic Italian hospital.METHODS: The data, which were stored in the official incident reporting system of the hospital and included all critical incidents that occurred and were reported in anonymous and voluntary forms over a 5-year period, were retrospectively analyzed.RESULTS: Overall, 17 critical incidents emerged, during both the team alert stage (n = 10) and its performance (n = 7), with approximately 3 events per year and an incident rate of 1.7 for every 1000 MET interventions.DISCUSSION: Medical emergency teams' critical incidents are rare and mainly due to the lack of compliance with protocols and of training and supplies, which require appropriate educational and organizational strategies.