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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Med.
Sec. Intensive Care Medicine and Anesthesiology
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2024.1486451

Improving Surgical Quality of Care: Learning from 8,331 Surgical Medical

Provisionally accepted
Qin Chen# Qin Chen# 1,2Xiaoyu Liu# Xiaoyu Liu# 2*Xiaoyan Liu Xiaoyan Liu 1*Pan Song Pan Song 2*Xiaoyan Quan Xiaoyan Quan 2*Huarong Xiong Huarong Xiong 1*Dan Wang Dan Wang 1*Xiaoli Hu Xiaoli Hu 1*Hua Zhang Hua Zhang 2*Meihong Shi Meihong Shi 2*
  • 1 The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China
  • 2 Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective: This study aimed to analyze the characteristics of surgical litigation cases and the risk factors that contribute to catastrophic compensation.We downloaded and retrieved all cases related to surgical litigation cases from the China Jufaanli Database between 2008 and 2023. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was employed to identify independent risk factors that may contribute to catastrophic compensation.Results: This study included a total of 8331 successfully resolved surgical litigation cases. Of these, 5114 hospitals were defendants, with 25.34% of them involved in two or more lawsuits, thereby categorized as "repeat defendants." The total compensation amount was $269163545, with the highest compensation reaching $540008. Most surgical litigation cases were concentrated in the eastern regions of China, with tertiary hospitals being the most frequently involved. The most common type of injury outcome was patient death. Compensation amounts and high compensation rates for severe disability exceeded those for death (p<0.05). Independent risk factors associated with catastrophic compensation in surgical medical liability disputes included: Eastern region (OR=1.462, 95% CI 1.038-2.060), secondary liability (OR=2.457, 95% CI 1.633-3.696), main liability (OR=9.353, 95% CI 6.195-14.121), major or full liability (OR=10.878, 95% CI 7.152-16.546), severe disability (OR=24.605, 95% CI 3.395-178.337), neurosurgery (OR=3.488, 95% CI 2.265-5.373), thoracic surgery (OR=1.810, 95% CI 1.017-3.219), general surgery (OR=2.465, 95% CI 1.593-3.816), hepatobiliary surgery (OR=3.251, 95% CI 1.980-5.338), gastrointestinal surgery (OR=2.260, 95% CI 1.391-3.671), cardiovascular surgery (OR=2.544, 95% CI 1.367-4.733), vascular surgery (OR=2.916, 95% CI 1.246-6.827), and spinal surgery (OR=2.921, 95% CI 1.763-4.841).This study analyzes the characteristics of surgical medical malpractice disputes in China from multiple perspectives and identifies independent risk factors for catastrophic compensation in surgical malpractice litigation. Our research has the potential to aid medical institutions in preventing and reducing surgical malpractice disputes, while also contributing to the provision of improved surgical care and nursing services for patients.

    Keywords: Medical malpractice, Medical damage liability disputes, Compensation, Surgery, China

    Received: 26 Aug 2024; Accepted: 12 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Chen#, Liu#, Liu, Song, Quan, Xiong, Wang, Hu, Zhang and Shi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Xiaoyu Liu#, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
    Xiaoyan Liu, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, 646000, Sichuan, China
    Pan Song, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
    Xiaoyan Quan, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
    Huarong Xiong, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, 646000, Sichuan, China
    Dan Wang, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, 646000, Sichuan, China
    Xiaoli Hu, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, 646000, Sichuan, China
    Hua Zhang, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
    Meihong Shi, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.