Hospital-acquired infections are the leading cause of preventable mortality among pediatric patients, according to a study of pediatric patient-safety incidents at 2,080 hospitals issued by HealthGrades, an independent healthcare ratings organization.

The study found that one in 208 pediatric patients experienced a potentially avoidable patient-safety event in a hospital during the three years studied, 2006-08. Of 5 million records analyzed, 25,367 patient-safety events and 1,465 preventable in-hospital deaths were identified. Of the deaths, 70.44% were associated with HAI (postoperative sepsis and central venous catheter-related infections).

The four pediatric patient-safety incidents showing the highest rates per 1,000 patients were postoperative sepsis (24.05), postoperative respiratory failure (18.62), pressure ulcers (3.72) and central venous catheter-related infections (2.41).

The study used eight patient-safety indicators developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to analyze the prevalence of pediatric patient-safety events. All hospitals in the 19 states that make data publicly available were studied.

There were 97 hospitals that had rates statistically lower than others. These are identified on healthgrades.com as recipients of the HealthGrades Pediatric Patient Safety Excellence Award. Pediatric patients at these hospitals had a 29.48% lower risk of experiencing one or more patient-safety events compared with all other hospitals.