Objective:To explore the application effect of global trigger tool (GTT) in detecting adverse events in ICU patients.Methods:According to contents of triggers in the GTT white paper, combined with the scope of domestic adverse event reporting and some ICU indexes, 16 triggers were established. A total of 1 683 medical records were collected from ICU of the Second People's Hospital of Liaocheng in Shandong Province from July 2018 to June 2019. According to the inclusion/exclusion criteria, 421 medical records of discharged patients were randomly selected according to the number of sampling intervals and 420 medical records were reviewed after eliminating repeated medical records. GTT method was used for retrospective analysis.Results:Of the 420 medical records actually used for review, 14 of the 16 triggers were positive, and the positive frequency of triggers was 128 cases, involving 62 patients. Adverse events were identified 51 times, involving 43 patients, with a detection rate of 10.24% (43/420) . Among the 51 cases of adverse events, 37 cases (72.55%) were Grade E, 13 cases (25.49%) were Grade F, and 1 case (1.96%) was Grade H. No Grade G or I was found. In the same year, 18 cases of adverse events were reported voluntarily in ICU, the reporting rate was 1.07% (18/1 683) .Conclusions:GTT can be effectively applied to the detection of adverse events in ICU patients, and a properly designed trigger can improve the detection rate.