Observational studyIntensive care medicine2015
The Iatroref study: medical errors are associated with symptoms of depression in ICU staff but not burnout or safety culture.
Observational study in Intensive care medicine, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 64 papers, 11 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
64 citing papers in PubMed, 11 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- High-level burnout in physicians and nurses working in adult ICUs: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Intensive care medicine · 2023Pooled it
- Prevalence of Burnout in Healthcare Specialties: A Systematic Review Using Copenhagen and Maslach Burnout Inventories.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2022Pooled it
- Burnout prevalence among European physicians: a systematic review and meta-analysis.International archives of occupational and environmental health · 2022Pooled it
- Scales Used to Measure Job Stressors in Intensive Care Units: Are They Relevant and Reliable? A Systematic Review.Frontiers in psychology · 2020Pooled it
- Evidence Relating Health Care Provider Burnout and Quality of Care: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Annals of internal medicine · 2019Pooled it
- Influence of Burnout on Patient Safety: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2019Pooled it
- The Relationship Between Burnout, Depression, and Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2019Pooled it
- Association Between Physician Burnout and Patient Safety, Professionalism, and Patient Satisfaction: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.JAMA internal medicine · 2018Pooled it
- Integrating teamwork, clinician occupational well-being and patient safety - development of a conceptual framework based on a systematic review.BMC health services research · 2016Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Prevalence of burnout among intensive care physicians: a systematic review.Revista Brasileira de terapia intensivaPooled it
- Night shift decreases cognitive performance of ICU physicians.Intensive care medicine · 2016Trial
- Prevalence and Predictors of Burnout Among Medical Interns in 2 Major Cities of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.Medical science monitor basic research · 2026Article
- Emotional Impact of Patient Death and Associated Psychological Distress in Cardiac Physicians.JACC. Advances · 2026Article
- Interruptions and multitasking in anaesthesia nursing: a prospective observational study of cognitive strain and workflow patterns.BMJ open quality · 2026Observational
- Burnout and patient safety: navigating between exaggerated evidence and warranted assertability.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Review
- Burnout, depression, and medication errors among family physicians.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Occurrence and associated factors of self-reported medical errors among Chinese physicians and nurses: a cross-sectional survey.Annals of medicine · 2025Article
- Enhancing Patient Safety Through Predictors of Job Performance in Greek Critical Care Nurses.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Nurse stress and patient safety in the ICU: physician-led observational mixed-methods study.BMJ open quality · 2025Observational
4 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeStaff behaviours to optimise patient safety may be influenced by burnout, depression and strength of the safety culture. We evaluated whether burnout, symptoms of depression and safety culture affected the frequency of medical errors and adverse events (selected using Delphi techniques) in ICUs.
methodsProspective, observational, multicentre (31 ICUs) study from August 2009 to December 2011.
resultsBurnout, depression symptoms and safety culture were evaluated using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), CES-Depression scale and Safety Attitudes Questionnaire, respectively. Of 1,988 staff members, 1,534 (77.2 %) participated. Frequencies of medical errors and adverse events were 804.5/1,000 and 167.4/1,000 patient-days, respectively. Burnout prevalence was 3 or 40 % depending on the definition (severe emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and low personal accomplishment; or MBI score greater than -9). Depression symptoms were identified in 62/330 (18.8 %) physicians and 188/1,204 (15.6 %) nurses/nursing assistants. Median safety culture score was 60.7/100 [56.8-64.7] in physicians and 57.5/100 [52.4-61.9] in nurses/nursing assistants. Depression symptoms were an independent risk factor for medical errors. Burnout was not associated with medical errors. The safety culture score had a limited influence on medical errors. Other independent risk factors for medical errors or adverse events were related to ICU organisation (40 % of ICU staff off work on the previous day), staff (specific safety training) and patients (workload). One-on-one training of junior physicians during duties and existence of a hospital risk-management unit were associated with lower risks.
conclusionsThe frequency of selected medical errors in ICUs was high and was increased when staff members had symptoms of depression.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.