Thematic Analysis of Obstetric Anesthesia
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-1-2018
Department
Nursing
Abstract
Maternal morbidity and mortality in the United States continues to be high. Understanding parturient com-plications and causes of death is critical to determine corrective actions. Analysis of closed malpractice claims evaluates patient care, identifies preventable morbidity and mortality, and offers recommendations for improvement. A review of obstetric anesthesia malpractice claims filed against nurse anesthetists (N = 21), extracted from the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists Foundation Closed Claims data-base, was completed. The malpractice claims included 18 maternal claims and 3 neonatal claims. The most common adverse maternal outcomes were maternal death (8/18) and nerve injury (4/18). Hemorrhage accounted for the greatest number of maternal deaths (3/8) followed by cardiovascular failure, emboli, and neuraxial opioid overdose. All neonatal claims (3/3) involved hypoxic encephalopathy resulting in 1 neonatal death and 2 cases of neonatal permanent brain injury. The majority of maternal cases were identified as nonemergent (15/18) and involved relatively healthy patients (15 identified as ASA physical status 2). Qualitative analysis of closed claims provides the opportunity to identify patterns of injuries, precipitating events, and interventions to improve care. Themes related to poor outcomes in this study include care delays, failed communication, incomplete documen-tation, maternal hemorrhage, and lack of provider vigilance.
Publication Title
AANA Journal
Volume
86
Issue
6
First Page
464
Last Page
470
Recommended Citation
Clayton, B. A.,
Geisz-Everson, M. A.,
Wilbanks, B.
(2018). Thematic Analysis of Obstetric Anesthesia. AANA Journal, 86(6), 464-470.
Available at: https://aquila.usm.edu/fac_pubs/15966