Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1468749
22 PATIENT SAFETY & OUTCOMES WHO probes rare reports of hearing issues after COVID-19 vaccination By Erica Carbajal T he World Health Organization is examining rare re- ports of hearing loss and other auditory issues such as tinnitus, or ringing of the ears, after COVID-19 vaccinations, NBC News reported March 28. The agency, in its pharmaceuticals newsletter, said the Uppsala Monitoring Centre in Sweden that works with the WHO had identified 164 reports of hearing loss and 367 reports of tinnitus after vaccination as of Feb. 22, 2021. The cases were reported in different countries, including 113 tinnitus reports in the U.S. As of March 18, the CDC had received 14,851 tinnitus reports following COVID-19 vaccination to its Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting Sys- tem. As of that same date, more than 255 million Ameri- cans had received at least one dose of vaccine. Of the 367 reported tinnitus cases, 73 percent were among women. The reported cases cover an age range of 19 to 91. Most of the cases, or 293, occurred among people who had received Pfizer's vaccine. Most cases, 74 percent, were recorded as non-serious. The National Institutes of Health estimates about 10 percent of the adult population in the U.S. experiences tinnitus, and research focused on auditory issues following vaccination has been limited. NBC cited a study published in Febru- ary in JAMA Otolaryngology that found hearing problems post-vaccination were no more common than would be expected in the general population. A Pfizer spokesperson told the news outlet it found "no caus- al association" between its COVID-19 vaccine and tinnitus. "Awareness of this possible link may help healthcare profes- sionals and those vaccinated to monitor symptoms and seek care as appropriate. As there is still only limited data in the literature providing evidence for this link, further monitoring is required," the WHO said in its pharmaceuticals newsletter. n Hospital CEOs: We stand with our front-line teams if they err By Robert C. Garrett, CEO, Hackensack Meridian Health, and Kevin Slavin, President and CEO of St. Joseph's Health W e stand with our nurses and healthcare workers through- out the nation who are deeply troubled by the conviction of a nurse in Tennessee in the death of a 75-year-old patient due to a drug error. It's a rare and troubling example of a healthcare profes- sional prosecuted for a medical mistake. The conviction, based on the death at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2017, is alarming our care teams because it could set a precedent for future prose- cutions. This case is a tragedy: a patient died unnecessarily; a family mourns, and a nurse carries all the blame when research and decades of experience tell us that most medical errors are caused by faulty processes. This conviction could also have a chilling effect on practices that we know enhance safety and create a culture where people speak truthful- ly about missteps or mistakes and can count on being treated fairly. The 38-year old nurse has admitted her role in this mistake but insists the error occurred because of technical problems with an electronic system that dispenses drugs. While she is facing up to eight years in prison, the hospital was not charged criminally even though evidence at trial indicated the medical center had a "heavy burden of responsibility'' for the error, according to media reports. It's important to note that states have different laws to address these tragic out- comes. In New Jersey, healthcare workers have greater protections under the state's Patient Safety Act. As an industry, we have made major strides in patient safety since the Insti- tute of Medicine released the landmark report "To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System'' in 1999. Here's one great example: A 50 percent reduction in blood- stream infections in hospitalized patients from 2008 to 2014, according to the CDC. Our health networks align with the report, which launched a transforma- tion in how hospitals report, address and prevent medical errors. e findings are relevant two decades later: We cannot punish our way to safer medical practice. Criminal prosecutions for unintentional acts are the wrong approach. Healthcare has modeled the approach taken by the airline industry, which has drastically reduced fatal accidents through enhanced technology, improvements in air traffic control and pilot training. Advancing safety begins with policies that protect team members for reporting mishaps and depends on our collective ability to learn from mistakes.