Application of failure mode and effect analysis in ICU admission of potentially COVID-19 infected patients

To analyze the admission and treatment process of potentially COVID-19-infected patients in the intensive care unit under normalization, prevention, and control of the pandemic. A multidisciplinary team was assembled to develop a flowchart of potentially COVID-19-infected patients admitted to the intensive care unit and identify potential failure steps and modes throughout the process using the failure mode and effect analysis method. Through risk priority number (RPN) analysis of each failure mode, those with the highest impact on nosocomial infection were identified, and the priority of implementation was determined. Related corrective measures have been developed to continuously improve clinical practice and management. Eighty potential failure modes were identified, and 8 potential failure modes were identified with RPNs greater than 100. These high RPNs of the failure modes were associated with careless inquiries of epidemiological histories by nurses, inadequate implementation of management standards by nursing assistants, and exposure of attending physicians to potentially risky environments. Finally, 18 general corrective measures are proposed. Application of the failure mode and effect analysis method for quality improvement is a powerful tool for predicting potential failures in the process and can suggest corrective measures that could help avoid nosocomial infection during a pandemic. •This study examines the use and efficacy of failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) in analyzing the journey of a potentially COVID-19 infected patient through the ICU admission, treatment, and discharge process as a means to identify and control nosocomial disease outbreak.•By identifying the most likely failure modes in the process and assigning risk priority numbers, we were able to develop corrective measures that are applicable from admission to discharge.•Our study makes a significant contribution to the literature because the FMEA tool has not previously been applied in the intensive care setting during the COVID-19 outbreak.