To the Editor: The article by Bellomo et al,1 with its alarmist conclusions, received a lot of media attention. However, the authors' methodology is flawed and their conclusions are unsupported by their data. They describe postoperative adverse events in a group of largely elderly patients (median age, 65.5 years) who stayed in hospital more than 48 hours after inpatient surgery. These selective criteria were used "to exclude patients having day surgery or minor procedures".
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- 1. Bellomo R, Goldsmith D, Russell S, Uchino S. Postoperative serious adverse events in a teaching hospital: a prospective study. Med J Aust 2002; 176: 216-218. <eMJA full text>
- 2. Bellomo R, Goldsmith D, Russell S, et al. Postoperative serious adverse events in a teaching hospital: a prospective study. Med J Aust 2002; 176: 216-218. <eMJA full text>
- 3. Wilson R McL, Runciman WB, Gibberd RW, et al. The Quality in Australian Health Care Study. Med J Aust 1995; 163: 458-471. <eMJA pdf>
- 4. Sweet M. Hospital errors kill 18,000 a year: study. The Sydney Morning Herald 1995; Nov 6.
- 5. Bellomo R, Goldsmith D, Russell S, Uchino S. Postoperative serious adverse events in a teaching hospital: a prospective study. Med J Aust 2002; 176: 216-218. <eMJA full text>