Critical incident reports in adults: an analytical study in a teaching hospital.

Unlabelled: Self-auditing is important to improve the standard of care. In a previous study (1991--1997), we reported human error and equipment factor as the two major causes leading to critical incidents. This study analyzes the computerized database and the medical records of 71 critical incidents reported in the Department morbidity and mortality meeting between 1998--2002, in an attempt to identify factors that have led to critical incidents and compare them with our previous report.