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
. 2016 Oct-Dec;7(4):181-186.
doi: 10.4103/2229-3485.192044.

An analysis of serious adverse drug reactions at a tertiary care teaching hospital

Affiliations

An analysis of serious adverse drug reactions at a tertiary care teaching hospital

Kinjal Prajapati et al. Perspect Clin Res. 2016 Oct-Dec.

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to analyze the various aspects of serious adverse drug reactions (serious ADRs) such as clinical presentation, causality, severity, and preventability occurring in a hospital setting.

Materials and methods: All serious ADRs reported from January 2010 to May 2015 at ADR Monitoring Centre, Department of Pharmacology, B. J. Medical College and Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad, were selected as per the World health Organization -Uppsala Monitoring Center (WHO-UMC) criteria. A retrospective analysis was carried out for clinical presentation, causality (as per the WHO-UMC scale and Naranjo's algorithm), severity (Hartwig and Siegel scale), and preventability (Schumock and Thornton criteria).

Results: Out of 2977 ADRs reported, 375 were serious in nature. The most common clinical presentation involved was skin and appendageal disorders (71, 18.9%). The common causal drug group was antitubercular (129, 34.4%) followed by antiretroviral (76, 20.3%) agents. The criteria for the majority of serious ADRs were intervention to prevent permanent impairment or damage (164, 43.7%) followed by hospitalization (158, 42.1%). Majority of the serious ADRs were continuing (191, 50.9%) at the time of reporting, few recovered (101, 26.9%), and two were fatal. The majority of serious ADRs were categorized as possible (182, 48.8%) followed by probable (173, 46.1%) in nature.

Conclusion: Antitubercular, antiretroviral, and antimicrobial drugs were the most common causal drug groups for serious ADRs. This calls for robust ADR monitoring system and education of patients and prescribers for identification and effective management.

Keywords: Causality; preventability; serious adverse drug reactions.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Details of causal drug groups causing serious adverse drug reactions (n = 375) (others*: Anti-amoebic, anti-diabetic, anti-cancer, anti-arrhythmic, anti-cholinergic, anti-diarrheal, anti-emetic, antitussive, anti-serum, plasma expanders, blood components, disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs, hematinics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, crystalloids, mucolytics, etc.)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Details of criteria of serious adverse drug reactions (n = 375)

References

    1. World Health Organization. Safety of Medicines-A Guide to Detecting and Reporting Adverse Drug Reactions-Why Health Professionals Need to Take Actions. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2002. [Last accessed on 2015 Dec 21]. Available from: http://www.apps.who.int/medicinedocs/en/d/Jh2992e/6.html .
    1. Edwards IR, Aronson JK. Adverse drug reactions: Definitions, diagnosis, and management. Lancet. 2000;356:1255–9. - PubMed
    1. Moore N, Briffaut C, Noblet C, Normand CA, Thuillez C. Indirect drug-related costs. Lancet. 1995;345:588–9. - PubMed
    1. Lazarou J, Pomeranz BH, Corey PN. Incidence of adverse drug reactions in hospitalized patients: A meta-analysis of prospective studies. JAMA. 1998;279:1200–5. - PubMed
    1. Shrivastava M, Uchit G, Chakravarti A, Joshi G, Mahatme M, Chaudhari H. Adverse drug reactions reported in Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Hospital, Nagpur. J Assoc Physicians India. 2011;59:296–9. - PubMed