RESEARCH - JAMA: Adverse drug events an import cause of illness

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Adverse Drug Events an Important Cause of Illness: Report

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Oct 18 - Each year, an estimated 700,000 Americans

experience adverse reactions to prescribed drugs that necessitate a trip to

the emergency department (ED), according to a report in the October 18th

issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

" Adverse drug events among outpatients that lead to emergency department

visits are an important cause of morbidity in the United States,

particularly among individuals aged 65 years or older, " write Dr. S.

Budnitz, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, and

colleagues.

During the two-year period from January 1, 2004 to December 31, 2005, a

total of 21,298 adverse drug event (ADEs) cases were reported to a national

surveillance system, yielding weighted annual estimates of 701,547 persons,

or 2.4 persons per 1000 population, treated in EDs for adverse drug

reactions.

Adverse drug events included allergic reactions, unintended overdoses,

adverse effects, secondary effects, and vaccine reactions. Such events

accounted for 2.5% of estimated ED visits for all unintentional injuries and

6.7% of estimated ED visits leading to hospitalization. Adverse drug events

were also responsible for 0.6% of estimated ED visits for all causes.

Individuals aged 65 and older, who make up 12% of the US population,

accounted for 25% of adverse drug events overall, and half of these events

required hospitalization. This " highlights the importance of directing ADE

prevention efforts to this vulnerable population, " the authors write.

Emergency department visits for ADEs in individuals 65 and older were nearly

as common as those for motor vehicle occupant injuries, Dr. Budnitz and

colleagues point out.

Most ADEs were the result of unintentional overdoses and involved acute

toxicity from drugs requiring regular outpatient monitoring such as

antidiabetic agents, warfarin, several anticonvulsants, digitalis,

glycosides, theophylline, and lithium.

" Ongoing, population-based surveillance can help monitor these events and

target prevention strategies, " Dr. Budnitz and colleagues conclude.

JAMA 2006;296:1858-1866.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/546258

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