Adverse events and safety in nursing care.

Objective: To identify the scientific publications about adverse events in nursing care in adult hospitalized patients and discuss the main adverse events in nursing care.

Method: Integrative revision with a qualitative approach. The data were collected at LILACS, MEDLINE, BDENF and the library SCIELO and were submitted to thematic analysis.

Results: Three categories were developed: Adverse events in nursing care; The main causes of the adverse events in nursing care; Attitude of nursing professionals in face of errors. The main events were identified in nursing care with emphasis on the medication error, the failure to perform dressings and falls of patients. The importance of instruments was emphasized for notification of adverse events in the institutions. However the fear of punishment on professionals stimulates the underreporting of events.

Conclusion: It is important to discuss effective prevention strategies that ensure patient safety in healthcare institutions.