Adverse Events Among Hospitalized Patients in China

July 10, 2026 updated by: Wei Jiang, Peking Union Medical College Hospital

Adverse Events Among Hospitalized Patients: A Multicenter Evaluation of Four Detection Methods

The goal of this observational study is to learn about the incidence and characteristics of adverse events (AEs) among hospitalized patients in China and to compare 4 commonly used methods for detecting these events. The main questions it aims to answer are:

How common are AEs among hospitalized patients, and what are their characteristics (types, severity, and preventability) in China? How do 4 commonly used methods, including the Harvard Medical Practice Study (HMPS), Global Trigger Tool (GTT), Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs), and incident reporting systems (IRSs), compare in detecting AEs? Researchers review randomly selected medical records from 5 hospitals in China to identify AEs, assess their type, severity, and preventability, and evaluate the performance of the 4 detection methods.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
2807

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • China
    • Beijing Municipality
      • Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China, 100730
        • Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Peking Union Medical College

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Probability Sample

Study Population

The study population consisted of inpatient admissions to 5 participating public general hospitals in Beijing, China, during 2024. Eligible admissions were identified according to predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Stratified random sampling was used, with sample sizes allocated in proportion to hospital admission volumes. Within each site, eligible admissions were randomly selected with equal selection probabilities. The final study sample included 2,843 admissions.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • age ≥18 years and a length of stay of at least 24 hours

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients admitted primarily for psychiatric disorders, palliative care, or rehabilitation were excluded.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Adverse event incidence
Time Frame: During the index admission, including review of relevant prior hospitalization records and all available records through 30 days after discharge.
The proportion of admissions with at least one adverse event.
During the index admission, including review of relevant prior hospitalization records and all available records through 30 days after discharge.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Types of adverse event
Time Frame: During the index admission, including review of relevant prior hospitalization records and all available records through 30 days after discharge
During the index admission, including review of relevant prior hospitalization records and all available records through 30 days after discharge
Preventability of adverse event
Time Frame: During the index admission, including review of relevant prior hospitalization records and all available records through 30 days after discharge
Adverse event with 6-point Likert scale scores ≥4 were considered preventable.
During the index admission, including review of relevant prior hospitalization records and all available records through 30 days after discharge
Severity of adverse events
Time Frame: During the index admission, including review of relevant prior hospitalization records and all available records through 30 days after discharge
Severity was graded using the National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention (NCC MERP) classification.
During the index admission, including review of relevant prior hospitalization records and all available records through 30 days after discharge
Sensitivity of adverse event detection methods
Time Frame: After completion of AE screening, adjudication, and re-review of randomly sampled screen-negative admissions
Admission-level sensitivity was calculated for the Harvard Medical Practice Study (HMPS), Global Trigger Tool (GTT), Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs), and incident reporting systems (IRSs).
After completion of AE screening, adjudication, and re-review of randomly sampled screen-negative admissions
Specificity of adverse event detection methods
Time Frame: After completion of AE screening, adjudication, and re-review of randomly sampled screen-negative admissions
Admission-level specificity was calculated for the Harvard Medical Practice Study (HMPS), Global Trigger Tool (GTT), Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs), and incident reporting systems (IRSs).
After completion of AE screening, adjudication, and re-review of randomly sampled screen-negative admissions
Positive predictive value (PPV) of adverse event detection methods
Time Frame: After completion of AE screening, adjudication, and re-review of randomly sampled screen-negative admissions
Admission-level positive predictive value (PPV) was calculated for the Harvard Medical Practice Study (HMPS), Global Trigger Tool (GTT), Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs), and incident reporting systems (IRSs).
After completion of AE screening, adjudication, and re-review of randomly sampled screen-negative admissions
Negative predictive value (NPV) of adverse event detection methods
Time Frame: After completion of AE screening, adjudication, and re-review of randomly sampled screen-negative admissions
Admission-level negative predictive value (NPV) was calculated for the Harvard Medical Practice Study (HMPS), Global Trigger Tool (GTT), Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs), and incident reporting systems (IRSs).
After completion of AE screening, adjudication, and re-review of randomly sampled screen-negative admissions

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Peking Union Medical College Hospital

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Beijing Longfu Hospital
Beijing Hepingli Hospital
Beijing No.6 Hospital
Beijing Puren Hospital

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
August 28, 2025

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
March 11, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
October 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
July 6, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 10, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
July 15, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
July 15, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 10, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • I-25PJ1969

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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