Despite their difficult definition and taxonomy, it is imperative to
study critical incidents in intensive care, since they may be followed
by adverse events and compromised patient safety. Identifying recurring
patterns and factors contributing to critical incidents constitutes a
prerequisite for developing effective preventive strategies.
Self-reporting methodology, although widely used for studying critical
incidents, has been criticized in terms of reliability and may
considerably underestimate both overall frequency and specific types of
them. Promotion of non-blaming culture, analysis of critical incident
reports and development of clinical recommendations are expected to
minimize critical incidents in the future