Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 May;129(3):153-64.
doi: 10.1590/s1516-31802011000300006.

Incidence and cost estimate of treating pediatric adverse drug reactions in Lagos, Nigeria

Kazeem Adeola Oshikoya  1 , Henry Chukwura, Olisamedua Fidelis Njokanma, Idowu Odunayo Senbanjo, Iyabo Ojo
Affiliations

Incidence and cost estimate of treating pediatric adverse drug reactions in Lagos, Nigeria

Kazeem Adeola Oshikoya et al. Sao Paulo Med J. 2011 May.

Abstract
in English, Portuguese

Context and objectives: Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) may cause prolonged hospital admissions with high treatment costs. The burden of ADRs in children has never been evaluated in Nigeria. The incidence of pediatric ADRs and the estimated cost of treatment over an 18-month period were determined in this study.

Design and setting: Prospective observational study on children admitted to the pediatric wards of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) in Nigeria, between July 2006 and December 2007.

Methods: Each patient was assessed for ADRs throughout admission. Medical and non-medical costs to the hospital and patient were estimated for each ADR by reviewing the medical and pharmacy bills, medical charts and diagnostic request forms and by interviewing the parents. Cost estimates were performed in 2007 naira (Nigeria currency) from the perspectives of the hospital (government), service users (patients) and society (bearers of the total costs attributable to treating ADRs). The total estimated cost was expressed in 2007 United States dollars (USD).

Results: Two thousand and four children were admitted during the study; 12 (0.6%) were admitted because of ADRs and 23 (1.2%) developed ADR(s) during admission. Forty ADRs were suspected in these 35 patients and involved 53 medicines. Antibiotics (50%) were the most suspected medicines. Approximately 1.83 million naira (USD 15,466.60) was expended to manage all the patients admitted due to ADRs.

Conclusions: Treating pediatric ADRs was very expensive. Pediatric drug use policies in Nigeria need to be reviewed so as to discourage self-medication, polypharmacy prescription and sales of prescription medicines without prescription.

CONTEXTO E OBJETIVOS:: Reações adversas a drogas (RAD) podem causar hospitalização prolongada com alto custo de tratamento. Este efeito das RAD em crianças nunca foi avaliado na Nigéria. A incidência de RAD em pediatria e o custo estimado de tratamento em um período de 18 meses foram determinadas neste estudo.

DESENHO E LOCAL:: Estudo prospectivo observacional de crianças admitidas nas unidades pediátricas do Hospital Universitário do Estado de Lagos (LASUTH) na Nigéria, entre julho de 2006 e dezembro de 2007.

MÉTODOS:: Cada paciente foi avaliado para RAD durante a admissão. Os custos médicos e não médicos para o hospital e para o paciente foram estimados para cada RAD pela revisão das contas médicas e da farmácia, pelos registros médicos, pelos exames necessários para diagnóstico e pelas entrevistas com os pais. Os custos foram estimados em nairas (moeda nigeriana) de 2007 a partir das perspectivas do hospital (governo), dos usuários de serviços (pacientes) e da sociedade (portadores dos custos totais atribuídos ao tratamento de RAD). A estimativa de custo total foi apresentada em dólares americanos (US) de 2007.

RESULTADOS:: Duas mil e quatro crianças foram admitidas durante este estudo; 12 (0,6%) foram admitidas devido a RAD e 23 (1.2%) desenvolveram RAD durante admissão. Quarenta RAD foram suspeitadas nesses 35 pacientes e envolveram 53 medicamentos. Antibióticos (50%) foram as drogas mais suspeitas. Aproximadamente 1.83 milhões de nairas (US 15,466.60) foram gastos para cuidar de todos os pacientes admitidos por RAD.

CONCLUSÕES:: O tratamento das RAD pediátricas foi bastante caro. As políticas de uso de drogas em pediatria na Nigéria devem ser revistas para desencorajar a auto-medicação, a prescrição de polifarmácia e a venda de medicamentos de prescrição sem prescrição.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: None to declare

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Pirmohamed M, Park BK. Adverse drug reactions: back to the future. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2003;55(5):486–492. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Oshikoya KA, Njokanma OF, Chukwura HA, Ojo IO. Adverse drug reactions in Nigerian Children. Paediatric and Perinatal Drug Therapy. 2007;8(2):81–88. Available from: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/apl/ppdt/2007/00000008/00000002/ar.... Accessed in 2011 (Jan 27)
    1. Lazarou J, Pomeranz BH, Corey PN. Incidence of adverse drug reactions in hospitalized patients: a meta-analysis of prospective studies. JAMA. 1998;279(15):1200–1205. - PubMed
    1. Mbuagbaw J, Mbuagbaw LCE, Chiabi A, Bisseck C, Nkam M. Mucocutaneous adverse drug reactions in a hospital setting in Cameroon. The Internet Journal of Dermatology. 2008;6(2) Available from: http://www.ispub.com/journal/the_internet_journal_of_dermatology/volume_.... Accessed in 2011 (Jan 27)
    1. Mehta U, Durrheim DN, Blockman M, et al. Adverse drug reactions in adult medical inpatients in a South African hospital serving a community with a high HIV/AIDS prevalence: prospective observational study. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2008;65(3):396–406. - PMC - PubMed

MeSH terms