The American surgeon
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Failure to rescue (FTR) is an outcome metric that reflects a center's ability to prevent mortality after a major complication. Identifying the timing and location of FTR events could help target efforts to reduce FTR rates. We sought to characterize the timing and location of FTR occurrences at our center, hypothesizing that FTR rates would be highest early after injury and in settings of lower intensity of care. ⋯ FTR rates were highest in the prehospital (55%), emergency department (38%), and operating room (36%) settings, but the greatest number of FTR cases occurred in the ICU (52/111, 47%). FTR rates were highest early after injury, but the majority of cases occurred in the ICU. Efforts to reduce institutional FTR rates should focus on complications that occur in the ICU setting.