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
. 2012 Aug 24;2(4):e000934.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2012-000934. Print 2012.

Adverse drug reaction-related admissions in paediatrics, a prospective single-centre study

Anke A G Posthumus  1 , Carien C W Alingh, Christian C M Zwaan, Kees K van Grootheest, Lidwien L M Hanff, Bregje B C M Witjes, Geert W 't Jong, Matthijs de Hoog
Affiliations

Adverse drug reaction-related admissions in paediatrics, a prospective single-centre study

Anke A G Posthumus et al. BMJ Open. .

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the incidence and characteristics of hospital admissions related to adverse drug events in the paediatric setting.

Design: Prospective single-centre study.

Setting: A secondary and tertiary paediatric care centre.

Participants: A total of 683 acutely admitted patients, aged 0-18 year. All acutely admitted patients, using medication before admission, were prospectively screened for possible Adverse Drug Reactions (ADR)-related admission with a trigger list. Included cases were analysed with the Naranjo score for the assessment of causality.

Main outcome measures: This research explored the incidence of ADR-related admissions and investigated the relation between ADR and the licensing status of the medicines, as well as the severity and potential to prevent the ADRs.

Results: A total of 683 patients were admitted acutely during the study period, 47 of them were exposed to cancer chemotherapy. Fifteen patients not exposed to chemotherapy (2.4%) were admitted due to an ADR. Five of these 15 ADRs (33%) were caused by unlicensed or off-label used drugs. Thirty-two patients exposed to chemotherapy (68.1%) were admitted due to an ADR; 27 of these (84%) were caused by unlicensed or off-label used drugs.

Conclusions: In conclusion, this study shows that ADR-related hospital admissions occur more frequently in the paediatric population compared with adults, and more frequently in patients exposed to cancer chemotherapy. No relation was found between the unlicensed and off-label used drugs and the incidence of ADRs.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Edwards IR, Aronson JK. Adverse drug reactions: definitions, diagnosis, and management. Lancet 2000;356:1255–9 - PubMed
    1. Krähenbühl-Melcher A, Schlienger R, Lampert M, et al. Drug-related problems in hospitals. A review of the recent literature . Drug Saf 2007;30:379–407 - PubMed
    1. Pirmohamed M, James S, Meakin S, et al. Adverse drug reactions as cause of admission to hospital: prospective analysis of 18820 patients. BMJ 2004;329:15–19 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Van der Hooft CS, Sturkenboom MCJM, Van Grootheest K, et al. Adverse drug reaction-related hospitalisations: a nationwide study in the Netherlands. Drug Saf 2006;29:161–8 - PubMed
    1. Leendertse AJ, Egberts AC, Stoker LJ, et al. Frequency of and risk factors for preventable medication-related hospital admissions in the Netherlands. Arch Intern Med 2008;168:1890–6 - PubMed