Adverse drug reactions as the cause of emergency department admission: focus on the elderly

The use of medications could be responsible of both side effects and adverse drug reaction (ADR). Identifying risk factors could improve the possibility of avoiding severe reactions in old people. We investigated the prevalence of unpredictable drug adverse reactions among patients admitted to the e...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Immunopharmacology and immunotoxicology 2010-09, Vol.32 (3), p.426-429
Main Authors: Ventura, Maria Teresa, Laddaga, Rocco, Cavallera, Pierfranco, Pugliese, Piervito, Tummolo, Roberto A., Buquicchio, Rosalba, Pierucci, Paola, Passalacqua, Gianni
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adverse drug reaction
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Alcohol Drinking - epidemiology
Anti-Bacterial Agents - adverse effects
Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal - adverse effects
antibiotics
comorbidities
Comorbidity
Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions - epidemiology
elderly
emergency department
Emergency Service, Hospital - statistics & numerical data
Female
Humans
Italy - epidemiology
Male
Middle Aged
Patient Admission - statistics & numerical data
Prevalence
Self Medication - statistics & numerical data
Sex Factors
Smoking - epidemiology
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Summary:The use of medications could be responsible of both side effects and adverse drug reaction (ADR). Identifying risk factors could improve the possibility of avoiding severe reactions in old people. We investigated the prevalence of unpredictable drug adverse reactions among patients admitted to the emergency departments (EDs) of three large Italian hospitals in the period 2005-2008. Clinical characteristics and demographics were carefully recorded in a dedicated database. The assessment of the drug reactions was carried out by an allergist after the first emergency evaluation. Over the considered period, 56,031 patients were admitted at the ED, 2644 (21.2%) of which for ADR. Out of those patients, 55 (2.1%) were identified as unpredictable ADRs. In 96% of the cases the clinical presentation was cutaneous and antibiotics were the most frequently responsible drugs. Patients over 65 years accounted for 37% of the reactions. In those patients the multiple drug regimens were significantly more frequent, as well as the presence of comorbidities. Smoking habit, alcohol abuse and personal and familiar history of atopy did not differ between the younger and the elderly. In the older group, antibiotics were more frequently involved, whereas in the
ISSN:0892-3973
1532-2513
DOI:10.3109/08923970903468847