Reporting Medical Errors
Historically, reporting medical errors has been associated with punitive action for the individuals involved, thereby discouraging its practice. Hospitals that take a non-punitive approach in such reporting improve their odds of capturing errors and avoid repeating them in the future. This includes ventilator problems caused by equipment malfunction or clinician error. The hospital should encourage the reporting of actual errors as well as near misses or close calls. This open reporting may help ensure operational defects are identified and corrected.
Evidence-Based Practice
• Low tidal volume ventilation (4-6 mL/kg of ideal body weight)
• Optimal recruitment pressures
• Plateau pressure (pPlat) < 30 cm H2O
Current data show a correlation between ventilator-induced lung injury and an increase in the release of proinflammatory mediators into the circulation. This physiology and its contribution to organ system failure is referred to as biotrauma.(5) The newest evidence supports the use of lung-protective strategies more than ever. Even though data suggest much better outcomes with these interventions, they still are not being applied uniformly or in a timely fashion.(6)
The Ventilator Bundle. Ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP), a pneumonia that develops more than 48 hours after the patient is intubated, is the leading cause of death among hospital-acquired infections, exceeding the rate of death due to central-line infections, severe sepsis, and respiratory tract infections in the non-intubated patient.(7) In addition to increased mortality, VAP prolongs ventilator days, increases length of stay in the ICU, and increases the cost of hospital care. The ventilator bundle includes four components of clinical practice that achieve significantly better outcomes when used together than when implemented separately.