Errors in pediatric death certificates issued in an emergency department

Abstract

Purpose Errors in pediatric death certificates (DCs) have been rarely reported. We analyzed the errors in writing the DCs issued in an emergency department (ED). Methods The DCs issued at the ED to patients aged 18 years or younger were retrospectively analyzed. Their medical records were reviewed by 4 emergency physicians. Major and minor errors in the DCs were defined based on the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th revision guidelines. The DCs were classified into the disease group and the external group by the manner of death, and the errors were compared. Results Among a total of 87 DCs issued in the ED, 97.5% and 100% were confirmed to contain at least 1 error in the disease (n = 40) and external (n = 47) groups, respectively. The median numbers of errors in the analyzed DCs were 2.0 and 3.0 in the disease and external groups, respectively (P = 0.004). In the disease group, the most frequent major error was reporting only a secondary condition as the underlying cause of death without antecedent causes (6 cases [15.0%]). In the external group, the most frequent major error was writing 2 or more causes in a single line for the cause of death (17 cases [36.2%]). In both groups, the most common minor error was omission of a time interval record for the cause of death (disease, 37 cases [92.5%]; external, 42 cases [89.4%]). Conclusion Any errors were identified in 98.9% of pediatric DCs issued in the ED, and the total number of errors was larger in the external group.

Keywords

• death certificates
• cause of death
• emergency service, hospital
• pediatrics
• diagnostic errors