Ten-year trends in hospital admissions for adverse drug reactions in England 1999-2009

Acoustofluidic Virus Isolation via Bessel Beam Excitation Separation Technology

The isolation of viruses from complex biological samples is essential for creating sensitive bioassays that assess the efficacy and safety of viral therapeutics and vaccines, which have played a critical role during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, existing methods of viral isolation are time-consuming and labor-intensive due to the multiple processing steps required, resulting in low yields. Here, we introduce the rapid, efficient, and high-resolution acoustofluidic isolation of viruses from complex biological samples via Bessel beam excitation separation technology (BEST). BEST isolates viruses by utilizing the nondiffractive and self-healing properties of 2D, in-plane acoustic Bessel beams to continuously separate cell-free viruses from biofluids, with high throughput and high viral RNA yield. By tuning the acoustic parameters, the cutoff size of isolated viruses can be easily adjusted to perform dynamic, size-selective virus isolation while simultaneously trapping larger particles and separating smaller particles and contaminants from the sample, achieving high-precision isolation of the target virus. BEST was used to isolate severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) from human saliva samples and Moloney Murine Leukemia Virus from cell culture media, demonstrating its potential use in both practical diagnostic applications and fundamental virology research. With high separation resolution, high yield, and high purity, BEST is a powerful tool for rapidly and efficiently isolating viruses. It has the potential to play an important role in the development of next-generation viral diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines.

Predictors of Adverse Drug Reaction-Related Hospitalisations Among People with Dementia: A Retrospective Case-Control Study

INTRODUCTION

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are common among people with dementia; however, little is known about the magnitude and predictors associated with ADR-related hospitalisation among these individuals. This study aimed to determine the magnitude, types, drugs implicated and predictors of ADRs associated with hospitalisation among people with dementia.

METHODS

This retrospective case-control study analysed medical records of individuals aged ≥ 65 years with dementia admitted to major public hospitals in Tasmania, Australia, from July 2010 to July 2021. Adverse drug reactions and implicated drugs were identified using administrative data and cross-checked with hospital medical records, with consensus reached among the research team.

RESULTS

Of the 7928 people admitted to hospital at least once within the study period, 1876 (23.7%) experienced at least one ADR-related hospitalisation. Of these, 300 case patients with 311 ADRs and 300 control patients were randomly selected. The most common types of ADRs were renal (acute kidney injury; AKI) (36.0%), followed by neuropsychiatric (17.6%), cardiovascular (16.0%) and haematological (13.1%). Diuretics, renin-angiotensin system (RAS) inhibitors and anti-thrombotics constituted the main implicated drug classes. The ADR-related hospitalisation was associated with: chronic kidney disease (CKD) (OR 8.00, 95% CI 2.63-24.28, p < 0.001), Australian-born (OR 1.62, 95% CI 1.08-2.43, p = 0.019), hypertension (OR 1.48, 95% CI 1.01-2.17, p = 0.044) and the number of medicines (OR 1.06, 95% CI 1.00-1.12, p = 0.022). Potentially inappropriate medication use and anticholinergic burden did not predict ADR-related hospitalisation.

CONCLUSIONS

These predictors could help identify the individuals at the highest risk and enable targeted interventions to be designed.

Current Practices of Medication Plans in Austrian Patients Undergoing Coronary Angiography: An In-Depth Analysis

A complete medication plan (MPlan) increases medication safety and adherence and is crucial in care transitions. Countries that implemented a standardized MPlan reported benefits on patients' understanding and handling of their medication. Austria lacks such a standardization, with no available data on the issue. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the current state of all medication documentations (MDocs) at hospital admission in a population at high risk for polypharmacy in Austria. Methods: We enrolled 512 consecutive patients undergoing elective coronary angiography. Their MDocs and medications were recorded at admission. MDocs were categorized, whereby a MPlan was defined as a tabular list including medication name, dose, route, frequency and patient name. Results: Out of 485 patients, 55.1% had an MDoc (median number of drugs: 6, range 2-17), of whom 24.7% had unstructured documentation, 18.0% physicians' letters and 54.3% MPlans. Polypharmacy patients did not have a MDoc in 31.3%. Crucial information as the patients's name or the originator of the MDoc was missing in 31.1% and 20.4%, respectively. Patients with MDoc provided more comprehensive medication information (p = 0.019), although over-the-counter-medication was missing in 94.5% of MDocs. A discrepancy between the MPlan and current medication at admission existed in 64.4%. In total, only 10.7% of our patient cohort presented an MPlan that was in accordance with their current medication. Conclusion: The situation in Austria is far from a standardized MPlan generated in daily routine. Numerous MPlans do not represent the current medication and could pose a potential risk for the effectiveness and safety of pharmacotherapy.

Adverse clinical outcomes associated with drug-related hospitalizations in people with dementia

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to determine the clinical impact associated with adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in patients with dementia.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

This case-control, propensity score-matched study utilized administrative data of people with dementia admitted to major public hospitals in Tasmania, Australia, from July 2010 to December 2019.

RESULTS

Acute renal failure constituted the most common ADR. The length of hospital stay was greater for people with an ADR index admission, versus non-ADR index admission (median [IQR]: 9 [4-18] versus 6 [2-12]; p < 0.001). In-hospital mortality and combined in-hospital and post-hospital mortality within 30, 60 and 90 days were higher for those whose index admission was ADR-related (in-hospital: HR 1.40, 95% CI 1.11-1.77, p-value <0.001; 30 days: HR 1.25, 95% CI 1.05-1.49, p-value <0.001; 60 days: HR 1.27, 95% CI 1.08-1.49, p-value <0.001; 90 days: HR 1.29, 95% CI 1.10-1.50, p-value <0.001). Subsequent ADR admission within 30, 60 and 90 days of index discharge was 9 to 10 times greater for people with dementia (30 days: OR 10.0, 95% CI 6.04-16.8, p-value <0.001; 60 days: OR 8.96, 95% CI 5.57-14.4, p-value <0.001; 90 days: OR 9.31, 95% CI 5.79-14.9, p-value <0.001).

CONCLUSION

Safe prescribing and vigilant monitoring of ADRs is pivotal to mitigate adverse outcomes in people with dementia.

Risk factors for medication-related short-term readmissions in adults - a scoping review

BACKGROUND

Hospital readmissions due to medication-related problems occur frequently, burdening patients and caregivers emotionally and straining health care systems economically. In times of limited health care resources, interventions to mitigate the risk of medication-related readmissions should be prioritized to patients most likely to benefit. Focusing on general internal medicine patients, this scoping review aims to identify risk factors associated with drug-related 30-day hospital readmissions.

METHODS

We began by searching the Medline, Embase, and CINAHL databases from their inception dates to May 17, 2022 for studies reporting risk factors for 30-day drug-related readmissions. We included all peer-reviewed studies, while excluding literature reviews, conference abstracts, proceeding papers, editorials, and expert opinions. We also conducted backward citation searches of the included articles. Within the final sample, we analyzed the types and frequencies of risk factors mentioned.

RESULTS

After deduplication of the initial search results, 1159 titles and abstracts were screened for full-text adjudication. We read 101 full articles, of which we included 37. Thirteen more were collected via backward citation searches, resulting in a final sample of 50 articles. We identified five risk factor categories: (1) patient characteristics, (2) medication groups, (3) medication therapy problems, (4) adverse drug reactions, and (5) readmission diagnoses. The most commonly mentioned risk factors were polypharmacy, prescribing problems-especially underprescribing and suboptimal drug selection-and adherence issues. Medication groups associated with the highest risk of 30-day readmissions (mostly following adverse drug reactions) were antithrombotic agents, insulin, opioid analgesics, and diuretics. Preventable medication-related readmissions most often reflected prescribing problems and/or adherence issues.

CONCLUSIONS

This study's findings will help care teams prioritize patients for interventions to reduce medication-related hospital readmissions, which should increase patient safety. Further research is needed to analyze surrogate social parameters for the most common drug-related factors and their predictive value regarding medication-related readmissions.

Incidence and preventability of hospital admissions for adverse drug reactions in France: A prospective observational study (IATROSTAT)

AIMS

In the last French study in 2007, the incidence of hospital admissions (HAs) related to adverse drug reactions (ADRs) was 3.6%. The objective was to assess the current ADR-HA incidence in France and to describe both its characteristics and preventability.

METHODS

A prospective multicentre study was conducted among randomly selected French public hospital medical wards (April-July 2018). Patients admitted during a week period were included. ADR-HA cases were collected by the French Regional Pharmacovigilance Centres network. An independent committee validated potential cases and ADR preventability.

RESULTS

ADR-HA incidence was 8.5% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 7.6-9.4%), increasing with age (3.3% [95%CI: 1.8-5.5%] ≤16 y vs. 10.6% [95%CI: 9.3-12.0%] ≥65 y). The most common ADRs were haemorrhagic events (8.8%), haematological disorders (6.5%), acute renal failure (6.3%), fluid and electrolyte disorders (6.0%), and falls (5.2%). New drugs were involved: targeted therapies (22.8% of antineoplastics), direct oral anticoagulants (29.6% of antithrombotics) and incretin-based drugs (20.0% of antidiabetics). ADRs were preventable in 16.1% of cases because the drugs involved had not been used in accordance with monographies, package leaflets or other therapeutic guidelines. The main situations of noncompliance addressed either dose or duration of use (27.9%), warning (23.2%), use precaution (18.6%) and inappropriate self-medication or misuse by patients (11.6%).

CONCLUSION

In France, ADR-HA incidence dramatically increased over the last decade. A significant proportion was related to new pharmacological classes and considered as preventable. These findings should lead to in-depth thought on preventive actions on at-risk drug classes.

[Deaths from adverse drug events in Brazil: Mortality Information System as a source of information]

Adverse drug events (ADEs) are harmful events caused by medication, and some of which can lead to death. Death records are an important source of information when using codes from the 10th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) suggestive of ADE. This study aimed to identify the ADEs registered in Brazililian Mortality Information System (SIM), analyzing data distribution by year, age group, and type of event. This is an ecological study with retrospective data collection, identifying ADEs in the SIM, using the ICD-10 codes. The study included deaths that occurred in Brazil from 2008 to 2016. An increase in the number of deaths associated with ADE was observed from 2008 to 2016, with a mortality rate per 1 million inhabitants ranging from 8.70 to 14.40 in the period. Most events corresponded to mental and behavioral disorders due to the use of psychotropic drugs. Most deaths (12,311) related to ADE codes were identified in several chapters of the ICD-10. Chapter XX, about adverse events, allowed the identification of a smaller number of deaths (4,893). Higher event rates were observed among individuals aged 60 years and over (39.8/1 million) and children younger than one year (22.0/1 million). The identification of ADE-related deaths on the SIM is an important strategy for addressing undesirable drug-related events. Deaths related to the use of psychotropic drugs were the most frequent ADE-related deaths and the elderly were the age group most affected by ADEs.

Hospitalizations and adverse drug events in the Brazilian unified health system: a ten-year retrospective analysis of routine data

OBJECTIVE

To describe the frequency and characteristics of hospitalizations for/with adverse drug events in the Brazilian unified health system routine data.

METHODS

Nationwide retrospective study using data obtained from a period of ten years from the Brazil Hospital Information System (SIH-SUS), an administrative database that registers hospitalizations in the unified health system. We selected hospitalizations with primary and/or secondary diagnosis related to adverse drug events according to a list of validated International Classification Disease 10th edition (ICD-10) codes. These events were described according to year, age group, sex, length of hospital stay, mortality, hospital costs, Brazilian geographical region, and category of ICD-10 codes. Crude hospitalization rates of adverse drug events per 100,000 inhabitants were obtained and Joinpoint Regression was used to analyze temporal changes in these rates along the years. The most frequent ICD-10 codes were also identified.

RESULTS

Over ten years, 603,663 hospitalizations in Brazil were found in the database, out of which 2.5% of the patients died. Though 2009 had the highest prevalence of hospitalization per 100,000 inhabitants (32.57), no significant annual change in rates was found for the entire period. All age groups and sexes presented a jointpoint in temporal series; however, only women had a significative increase trend. The most frequent codes were from the chapter of mental and behavioral disorders (F19.2, F19.0, and F19.5 codes).

CONCLUSIONS

The database methodology can be useful to estimate frequencies of adverse drug events and perform characterization nationwide and to help monitor morbidity along the years.

A National Survey of Community Pharmacists’ Viewpoints About Pharmacovigilance and Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting in Saudi Arabia

This study assessed the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of community pharmacists regarding pharmacovigilance and adverse drug reaction (ADR) reporting system in Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional survey of community pharmacists from different regions in Saudi Arabia was performed through convenience sampling between November 2020 and January 2021. The responses were received from 1,172 community pharmacists. Most respondents (86.7%) were familiar with the National Pharmacovigilance and Drug Safety Center, and 830 (70.8%) knew about the ADR reporting form. The majority (94%) of the respondents agreed with the importance of reporting ADRs for patient care and national health. Although 92.2% of the participants asked their patients about ADRs, 90.2% agreed that more training programs are required to be organized by the Saudi Food and Drug Authority for healthcare professionals on the ADR detection and reporting system. Analgesic agents were the most common drug category for which ADRs were reported (67.4%). The majority (92.1%) of ADRs reportedly occurred in patients with chronic diseases. The study concluded that most community pharmacists in Saudi Arabia are knowledgeable and have good attitudes and practices regarding pharmacovigilance and ADR reporting.

Trends and characteristics of hospitalisations from the harmful use of opioids in England between 2008 and 2018: Population-based retrospective cohort study

Objective

To examine the trends and characteristics of opioid-related hospital admissions in England over 10 years, and its burden for the National Health Service and public finances.

Design

Patient-level data from the Hospital Episode Statistics database to examine all opioid-related hospitalisations from 2008 to 2018, stratified by type of opioid admission and patient demographics.

Setting

All National Health Service hospitals in England.

Participants

Patients hospitalised from the harmful use of opioids.

Main outcome measures

The number of opioid-related hospitalisations, length of stay, in-hospital mortality, 30-day readmission rate and treatment costs.

Results

Opioid-related hospitalisations increased by 48.9%, from 10,805 admissions in 2008 to 16,091 admissions in 2018, with total treatment costs of £137 million. The growth in opioid-related hospitalisations was 21% above the corresponding rate for all other emergency admissions in England. Relative changes showed that hospitalisations increased most for individuals older than 55 years (160%), those living in the most affluent areas of England (93.8%), and suffering from four co-morbidities (627.6%) or more. Hospitals reduced mean patient length of stay from 2.8 days to 1.1 days over 10 years. Mean in-hospital mortality was 0.4% and mean 30-day readmission risk was 16.6%.

Conclusion

Opioid use is an increasing public health concern in England, though hospitalisation and mortality rates are less pronounced than in other countries. There are concerns about significant rises in hospitalisations from older, less deprived and sicker population groups. Our findings should prompt policymakers to go beyond monitoring mortality statistics when assessing the impacts of harmful use of opioids.

Hospitalizations and deaths related to adverse drug events worldwide: Systematic review of studies with national coverage

PURPOSE

Adverse drug events are related to negative outcomes in healthcare, including hospitalization, increased duration of hospital stay and death. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review to evaluate hospitalizations and deaths related to adverse drug events worldwide, reported in studies with national coverage.

METHODS

The protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42020157008). We performed a systematic search on Medline, Embase, CINAHL, LILACS, and the Cochrane Library (until March 2020) using pre-specified terms. We included published studies that reported data on hospitalizations and/or deaths related to adverse drug events from a national perspective and the use of secondary data as a source of information. Two reviewers independently extracted and synthesized data. The quality of the studies was assessed using an adapted version of the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal checklist for prevalence studies. Narrative summaries of findings were undertaken.

RESULTS

Among 59,336 citations, 62 studies were included for data extraction and synthesis. Among these studies, 41 studies included the outcome of hospitalization, 16 included the death outcome, and five included both outcomes. Administrative databases regarding discharges and registries of vital statistics were the most common sources of information. The relative frequency of hospitalizations ranged from 0.03% to 7.3%, and from 9.7 to 383.0/100,000 population, whereas mortality rate ranged from 0.1 to 7.88/100,000 population.

CONCLUSION

Our study highlights information about adverse drug events using large administrative databases in a national scenario and provides an overview of databases and methods implemented to detect adverse drug events.

Skills and practices of pharmacy staff for dispensing of drugs with fiscalized substances in drugstores and pharmacies

OBJETIVE

To evaluate the skills and practices of pharmacy staff during the dispensing of tramadol (drug with fiscalized substance) in drugstores and pharmacies in Medellin, Colombia.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was performed. The simulated patient technique was used. The main outcomes included the information provided on the dispensed drug (tramadol), the use of tools to provide information, and the information provided on drug precautions and use recommendations.

RESULTS

We visited 305 drugstores and pharmacies. The average dispensing time was 2.3 min (SD 1.1 min). In nine drugstores and pharmacies (3.0%), tramadol was not dispensed because it was not in stock. In 17 drugstores and pharmacies (5.7%), the simulated patients were actively informed by the dispensing pharmacy staff; of these, 16 provided oral information and one provided oral and written information. Eight patients (2.7%) received information regarding tramadol use. However, 99% of patients were not informed about tramadol side effects such as dependence, sedation, or hypnosis, and none of the simulated female patients were informed on the precautions related to tramadol use during pregnancy or lactation.

CONCLUSIONS

Communication skills and appropriate practices of pharmacy staff are critical to patient self-care. However, this study shows their difficulty in counseling about precautions and use recommendations of drugs with fiscalized substances. These outcomes could inform future studies focusing on the rational use of these drugs in drugstores and pharmacies. It is necessary to improve the pharmacy staff competencies through continuing education programs, to facilitate access to information and training.

Estimation of adverse drug reaction reporting in Iran: Correction for underreporting

PROPOSE

Underreporting of Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) reduces the sensitivity of pharmacovigilance systems. We described ADR reporting and its trend from 1999 to 2017 and estimated the ADR underreporting in the Iranian Pharmacovigilance Center.

METHODS

We expressed the number of ADR reporting per inhabitants and admissions and their possible trends. Finally, ADR underreporting percentages were estimated by three approaches: prospective studies, literature review, stratification of the country; and the trend of the proportion of ADR per inhabitants was corrected.

RESULTS

The proportion of ADR reporting was 15.3 per 100 000 inhabitants (95% CI: 15.2, 15.8) and 10.0 per 100 000 admissions (95% CI: 9.8, 10.2) in 2017, and its trend was increasing with 16.3% average change per annum during 19 years. The median of estimated percentages of underreporting was 76.0% (IQR: 64.32-81.35). After the correction, the mean proportion of ADR reporting for 19 years reached from 5.87 to 10.33 per 100 000 inhabitants.

CONCLUSIONS

The trend of ADRs reporting has been increasing over the 19 years but is still low. This study showed a considerable underreporting of ADR, and about one of four detected ADRs were reported to the pharmacovigilance center from 1999 to 2017.

Pulmonary function testing for the early detection of drug-induced lung disease: a systematic review in adults treated with drugs associated with pulmonary toxicity

Pulmonary function tests (PFT) are sometimes monitored during treatment with known pulmonary toxic drugs to detect asymptomatic drug-induced interstitial lung disease (DILD). We conducted a systematic review to assess the accuracy of PFT, including the diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO), for early detection of DILD in a range of drugs. Using a pre-specified, registered review protocol, OvidMEDLINE and EMBASE were searched from 1946 to February 2018. Two reviewers independently screened abstracts and reviewed full-text articles for inclusion. Included studies were assessed for risk of bias using adapted QUADAS-2 domains and primary outcome data were extracted and entered into RevMan5 to estimate sensitivity and specificity with 95% confidence intervals (CI). The search identified 4065 citations and included 42 studies. The most commonly studied drugs were bleomycin and amiodarone. Due to clinical heterogeneity between studies, a pooled analysis was not performed. Sensitivity of monitoring with DLCO varied between 0 and 100%, with the majority of studies finding a sensitivity of <80%. CI were wide for the majority of studies. Specificity was less than 90% in all studies. Risk of bias was high for the majority of studies for the quality domain of reference standard. The findings of this review do not support routine PFT for early detection of DILD. Due to methodological limitations, the relatively small number of participants and the low prevalence of DILD in the included studies, there remains significant uncertainty about the sensitivity of PFT to screen for DILD.

Acute Kidney Disease to Chronic Kidney Disease

Acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease are common interconnected syndromes that represent a public health problem. Acute kidney disease (AKD) is defined as the post-AKI status of acute or subacute kidney damage/dysfunction manifested by persistence of AKI beyond 7 to 90 days after the initial AKI diagnosis. Limited clinical data exist regarding AKD epidemiology but its incidence is observed in ∼25% of AKI survivors. Useful risk-stratification tools to predict risk of AKD and its prognosis are needed. Interventions on fluid management, nephrotoxic exposure, and follow-up care hold promise to ameliorate the burden of AKD and its complications.

Antibiotic allergy as a cause of hospitalization in adults: a hospital-based study in Ukraine

Background:

Antibiotic allergy is an important clinical and social-economical issue.

Objective:

The main objectives of this study were to determine the incidence, causative drugs, and risk groups of antibiotic allergy as a reason for hospitalization. The secondary objective was to evaluate the treatment of antibiotic allergy through the identification of drug related problems (DRPs).

Methods:

This retrospective hospital-based study was carried out in one of Lviv city hospitals (Ukraine) from January 2015 to December 2017. Patients with antibiotic allergy as a cause for hospitalization were included in this study.

Results:

In this study the incidence of antibiotic allergy was 2.0% (95%CI 1.6:2.4) of all admissions to the Unit that provides special medical care for adult inpatients with allergy diseases and allergy reactions. The mean age of patients was 48.5 years (SD=17.0; range 18-83 years) with female predominance (78.2%; 95%CI 68.9:85.2). Antibiotic hypersensitivity reactions manifested as urticaria with angioedema (52.5%; 95%CI 42.3:62.5), urticaria (36.6%; 95%CI 27.8:46.8) or angioedema (10.9%; 95%CI 5.6:18.7). Beta-lactams (48.5%; 95%CI 38.5:58.7), fluoroquinolones (13.9%; 95%CI 7.8%:22.2%) and macrolides (7.9%; 95%CI 3.5:15.0) were specified as the main causative drugs. All patients during hospitalization (a mean of 8.2 days; SD=2.2; range 2-13 days) took at least 3 medicines (a mean of 5.4 medicines per patient; SD=1.2; range 3-12 medicines). The total number of identified DRPs was 400, a mean of 4.0 DRPs per patient (SD=1.8). The most frequently identified type of DRPs was inappropriate route of drug administration (25.0%; 95%CI 20.8:29.5). This was followed by duplicate prescriptions (23.5%; 95%CI 19.4:28.0) and insufficient frequency of drug administration (19.0%; 95%CI 15.3:23.2). Potential drug-drug interactions and inappropriate drug prescriptions each accounted for 16.0% (95% CI 12.6:20.0) of all DRPs. Comparing all above items in 2015, 2016 and 2017 showed no statistically significant changes (p>0.05).

Conclusions:

Antibiotic allergy is a common reason for admissions. The treatment of antibiotic allergy is associated with numerous DRPs. Our results could be useful for development of strategies for improving the safety and quality of pharmacotherapy.

Nobody ever questions-Polypharmacy in care homes: A mixed methods evaluation of a multidisciplinary medicines optimisation initiative

BACKGROUND

Nurse-led monitoring of patients for signs and symptoms associated with documented 'undesirable effects' of medicines has potential to prevent avoidable harm, and optimise prescribing.

INTERVENTION

The Adverse Drug Reaction Profile for polypharmacy (ADRe-p) identifies and documents putative adverse effects of medicines commonly prescribed in primary care. Nurses address some problems, before passing ADRe-p to pharmacists and prescribers for review, in conjunction with prescriptions.

OBJECTIVES

We investigated changes in: the number and nature of residents' problems as recorded on ADRe-p; prescription regimens; medicines optimisation: and healthcare costs. We explored aetiologies of problems identified and stakeholders' perspectives.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

In three UK care homes, 19 residents completed the study, December 2018 to May 2019. Two service users, three pharmacists, six nurses gave interviews.

METHODS

This mixed-method process evaluation integrated data from residents' ADRe-ps and medicines charts, at the study's start and 5-10 weeks later.

RESULTS

We recruited three of 27 homes approached and 26 of 45 eligible residents; 19 completed ADRe-p at least twice. Clinical gains were identified for 17/19 residents (mean number of symptoms 3 SD 1.67, range 0-7). Examples included management of: pain (six residents), seizures (three), dyspnoea (one), diarrhoea (laxatives reduced, two), falls (two of five able to stand). One or more medicine was de-prescribed or dose reduced for 12/19 residents. ADRe administration and review cost ~£30 in staff time. ADRe-p helped carers and nurses bring residents' problems to the attention of prescribers.

IMPLICATIONS

ADRe-p relieved unnecessary suffering. It supported carers and nurses by providing a tool to engage with pharmacists and prescribers, and was the only observable strategy for multidisciplinary team working around medicines optimisation. ADRe-p improved care by: a) regular systematic checks and problem documentation; b) information transfer from care home staff to prescribers and pharmacists; c) recording changes.

REGISTRATION

NLM Identifier NCT03955133; ClinicalTrials.gov.

Rapid review of suspected adverse drug events due to remdesivir in the WHO database; findings and implications

Objectives: Remdesivir has shown promise in the management of patients with COVID-19 although recent studies have shown concerns with its effectiveness in practice. Despite this there is a need to document potential adverse drug events (ADEs) to guide future decisions as limited ADE data available before the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Interrogation of WHO VigiBase® from 2015 to 2020 coupled with published studies of ADEs in COVID-19 patients. The main outcome measures are the extent of ADEs broken down by factors including age, seriousness, region and organ. Results: A total 1086 ADEs were reported from the 439 individual case reports up to July 19, 2020, in the VigiBase®, reduced to 1004 once duplicates were excluded. Almost all ADEs concerned COVID-19 patients (92.5%), with an appreciable number from the Americas (67.7%). The majority of ADEs were from males > 45 years and were serious (82.5%). An increase in hepatic enzymes (32.1%), renal injury (14.4%), rise in creatinine levels (11.2%), and respiratory failure (6.4%) were the most frequently reported ADEs. Conclusions: Deterioration of liver and kidney function are frequently observed ADEs with remdesivir; consequently, patients should be monitored for these ADEs. The findings are in line with ADEs included in regulatory authority documents.

Hematologic adverse drug reactions leading to hospitalization among cancer patients: A retrospective case-control study

BACKGROUND

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Despite the rapid evolution of cancer treatment, chemotherapy remains the mainstay in the management of cancer. Chemotherapy can result in various adverse drug reactions (ADRs), which may lead to hospitalization and even life-threatening side-effects. Hematologic ADRs are among the most severe forms of ADR following chemotherapy, as they generally lead to hospitalization. It is important to realize the predictors and outcome of hematologic ADRs in cancer patients.

METHODS

We conducted a hospital-based case-control study to include all the cancer patients who were hospitalized to receive chemotherapy in Taipei Veterans General Hospital during 2013. Among them the patients rehospitalized after chemotherapy due to neutropenia, leucopenia, or pancytopenia were identified as the study group. Control subjects consisted of hospitalized cancer patients who did not display the aforementioned ADRs. The study and control groups were numbered in the ratio of 1:4 and were age- and gender-matched. Their demographic and clinical characteristics were collected through chart review. Determinants of hematologic ADRs were then analyzed.

RESULTS

During the study period, we collected a total of 64 patients into the study group and 256 as control subjects. The mean length of hospitalization was 11 days in the study group of patients, which was 5 days longer than that in the control group (p < 0.001). Predictors of hematologic ADR-related hospitalization included history of hematologic ADRs, hypertension, cisplatin treatment, and a Charlson comorbidity score of 2 to 3.

CONCLUSION

Severe outcomes of hematologic ADRs may increase healthcare costs and decrease patient productivity. Therefore, the determinants of ADR-related hospitalization identified in this study may help improve the quality of healthcare for cancer patients.

Broad-Spectrum Profiling of Drug Safety via Learning Complex Network

Drug safety is a severe clinical pharmacology and toxicology problem that has caused immense medical and social burdens every year. Regretfully, a reproducible method to assess drug safety systematically and quantitatively is still missing. In this study, we developed an advanced machine learning model for de novo drug safety assessment by solving the multilayer drug‐gene‐adverse drug reaction (ADR) interaction network. For the first time, the drug safety was assessed in a broad landscape of 1,156 distinct ADRs. We also designed a parameter ToxicityScore to quantify the overall drug safety. Moreover, we determined association strength for every 3,807,631 gene‐ADR interactions, which clues mechanistic exploration of ADRs. For convenience, we deployed the model as a web service ADRAlert‐gene at http://www.bio-add.org/ADRAlert/. In summary, this study offers insights into prioritizing safe drug therapy. It helps reduce the attrition rate of new drug discovery by providing a reliable ADR profile in the early preclinical stage.

E-Synthesis: A Bayesian Framework for Causal Assessment in Pharmacosurveillance

Background: Evidence suggesting adverse drug reactions often emerges unsystematically and unpredictably in form of anecdotal reports, case series and survey data. Safety trials and observational studies also provide crucial information regarding the (un-)safety of drugs. Hence, integrating multiple types of pharmacovigilance evidence is key to minimising the risks of harm.

Methods: In previous work, we began the development of a Bayesian framework for aggregating multiple types of evidence to assess the probability of a putative causal link between drugs and side effects. This framework arose out of a philosophical analysis of the Bradford Hill Guidelines. In this article, we expand the Bayesian framework and add “evidential modulators,” which bear on the assessment of the reliability of incoming study results. The overall framework for evidence synthesis, “E-Synthesis”, is then applied to a case study.

Results: Theoretically and computationally, E-Synthesis exploits coherence of partly or fully independent evidence converging towards the hypothesis of interest (or of conflicting evidence with respect to it), in order to update its posterior probability. With respect to other frameworks for evidence synthesis, our Bayesian model has the unique feature of grounding its inferential machinery on a consolidated theory of hypothesis confirmation (Bayesian epistemology), and in allowing any data from heterogeneous sources (cell-data, clinical trials, epidemiological studies), and methods (e.g., frequentist hypothesis testing, Bayesian adaptive trials, etc.) to be quantitatively integrated into the same inferential framework.

Conclusions: E-Synthesis is highly flexible concerning the allowed input, while at the same time relying on a consistent computational system, that is philosophically and statistically grounded. Furthermore, by introducing evidential modulators, and thereby breaking up the different dimensions of evidence (strength, relevance, reliability), E-Synthesis allows them to be explicitly tracked in updating causal hypotheses.

Drug Related Hospital Admissions; A Systematic Review of the Recent Literatures

Objective:

To derive findings from different studies done on drug related hospital admissions and comprehensively express the incidence and preventability of drug related hospital admissions; identify the common types of drug related problems that caused hospital admission, and identify factors associated with drug related hospital admission.

Methods:

Literatures that assessed hospitalization due to drug related problems were searched online using Pub Med and Google Scholar databases. The relevant reference lists of retrieved articles were also searched manually on Google. Prospective and retrospective studies conducted anywhere in the world on drug related hospitalization, published from January 2012 to January 2017 as an original article and written in English language were included.

Result:

The prevalence of drug related hospital admission varies from 1.3% to 41.3% with the average rate of 15.4%. Among hospitalized patients 2.7% were died due to drug-related problems (DRPs). Drugs that were frequently reported as causing drug related admission were antithrombotic drugs, antihypertensive drugs, analgesics, anti-diabetics, antipsychotics, and anti-neoplastic drugs. Poly pharmacy, old age and female sex were mentioned as determinants for drug related hospitalization by a number of studies. About one third of drug related hospital admissions were definitely preventable and more than 40% were also potentially preventable.

Conclusion:

Drug related problems contribute for more than 15% of hospital admissions. Higher risk of admission due to DRPs was observed in patients who were on poly pharmacy and those who were old. As most of drug related hospital admissions were preventable an emphasis should be given for preventive strategies to avoid complications and costs associated with admission.

Nurse-led medicines' monitoring in care homes, implementing the Adverse Drug Reaction (ADRe) Profile improvement initiative for mental health medicines: An observational and interview study

Introduction

Preventable adverse effects of medicines often pass unnoticed, but lead to real harm.

Intervention

Nurse-led monitoring using the structured Adverse Drug Reaction (ADRe) Profile identifies and addresses adverse effects of mental health medicines.

Objectives

This study investigated the implementation and clinical impact of ADRe, and barriers to and facilitators of sustained utilisation in routine practice.

Methods

Administration of ADRe was observed for 30 residents prescribed mental health medicines in ten care homes. The study pharmacist reviewed completed ADRes against medication records. Policy context was explored in 30 interviews with service users, nurse managers and strategic leads in Wales.

Results

Residents were aged 60–95, and prescribed 1–17 (median 9 [interquartile range (IQR) 7–13]) medicines. ADRe identified a median of 18 [IQR 11.5–23] problems per resident and nurses made 2 [1–2] changes to care per resident. For example: falls were reported for 9 residents, and care was modified for 5; pain was identified in 8 residents, and alleviated for 7; all 6 residents recognised as dyspnoeic were referred to prescribers. Nurses referred 17 of 30 residents to prescribers. Pharmacists recommended review for all 30. Doubts about administering ADRe, sometimes expressed by people who had not yet used it, diminished as it became familiar. ADRe was needed to bridge communication between resident, nurses and prescribers. When barriers of time, complacency, and doctors’ non-availability were overcome, reporting with ADRe made prescribers more likely to heed nurses’ concerns regarding residents’ welfare. Clinical gains were facilitated by one-to-one time, staff-resident relationships, and unification of documentation.

Implications

To our knowledge, ADRe is the only instrument that brings a full account of patients’ problems to medication reviews. This juxtaposition of signs and symptoms against prescriptions facilitates dose adjustments and de-prescribing and leads to: reduced pain and sedation; early identification of problems linked to ADRs, such as falls; and timely medication reviews e.g. for dyspnoea.

Kinetics of Urinary Cell Cycle Arrest Markers for Acute Kidney Injury Following Exposure to Potential Renal Insults

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text.

Urinary tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2 and insulin-like growth factor binding protein 7 predict the development of acute kidney injury following renal insults of varied aetiology. To aid clinical interpretation, we describe the kinetics of biomarker elevations around an exposure.

Community pharmacy medication review, death and re-admission after hospital discharge: a propensity score-matched cohort study

Background

In-hospital medication review has been linked to improved outcomes after discharge, yet there is little evidence to support the use of community pharmacy-based interventions as part of transitional care.

Objective

To determine whether receipt of a postdischarge community pharmacy-based medication reconciliation and adherence review is associated with a reduced risk of death or re-admission.

Design

Propensity score-matched cohort study.

Setting

Ontario, Canada

Participants

Patients over age 66 years discharged home from an acute care hospital from 1 April 2007 to 16 September 2016.

Exposure

MedsCheck, a publicly funded medication reconciliation and adherence review provided by community pharmacists.

Main outcome

The primary outcome was time to death or re-admission (defined as an emergency department visit or urgent rehospitalisation) up to 30 days. Secondary outcomes were the 30-day count of outpatient physician visits and time to adverse drug event.

Results

MedsCheck recipients had a lower risk of 30-day death or re-admission (23.4% vs 23.9%, HR 0.97, 95% CI 0.95 to 1.00, p=0.02), driven by a decreased risk of death (1.7% vs 2.1%, HR 0.79, 95% CI 0.73 to 0.86) and rehospitalisation (11.0% vs 11.4%, HR 0.96, 95% 0.93–0.99). In a post hoc sensitivity analysis with pharmacy random effects added to the propensity score model, these results were substantially attenuated. There was no significant difference in 30-day return to the emergency department (22.5% vs 22.8%, HR 0.99, 95% CI 0.96 to 1.01) or adverse drug events (1.5% vs 1.5%, HR 1.03, 95% CI 0.94 to 1.12). MedsCheck recipients had more outpatient visits (mean 2.11 vs 2.09, RR 1.01, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.02, p=0.02).

Conclusions and relevance

Among older adults, receipt of a community pharmacy-based medication reconciliation and adherence review was associated with a small reduced risk of short-term death or re-admission. Due to the possibility of unmeasured confounding, experimental studies are needed to clarify the relationship between postdischarge community pharmacy-based medication review and patient outcomes.

Medicines reconciliation at the community mental health team-general practice interface: quality improvement study

Aims and methodTo increase the proportion of patients with no psychotropic drug discrepancies at the community mental health team (CMHT)-general practice interface. Three CMHTs participated. Over a 14 month period, quality improvement methodologies were used: individual patient-level feedback to patient's prescribers, run charts and meetings with CMHTs. RESULTS: One CMHT improved medicines reconciliation accuracy and demonstrated significant reductions in prescribing discrepancies. One in three (119/356) patients had ≥1 discrepancy involving 20% (166/847) of all prescribed psychotropics. Discrepancies were graded as: 'fatal' (0%), 'serious' (17%) and 'negligible/minor harm' (83%) but were associated with extra avoidable prescribing costs. For medicines routinely supplied by secondary care, 68% were not recorded in general practice electronic prescribing systems.Clinical implicationsImprovements in medicines reconciliation accuracy were achieved for one CMHT. This may have been partly owing to a multidisciplinary team approach to sharing and addressing prescribing discrepancies. Improving prescribing accuracy may help to reduce avoidable drug-related harms to patients.Declaration of interestNone.

New Insights in Computational Methods for Pharmacovigilance: E-Synthesis, a Bayesian Framework for Causal Assessment

Today's surge of big data coming from multiple sources is raising the stakes that pharmacovigilance has to win, making evidence synthesis a more and more robust approach in the field. In this scenario, many scholars believe that new computational methods derived from data mining will effectively enhance the detection of early warning signals for adverse drug reactions, solving the gauntlets that post-marketing surveillance requires. This article highlights the need for a philosophical approach in order to fully realize a pharmacovigilance 2.0 revolution. A state of the art on evidence synthesis is presented, followed by the illustration of E-Synthesis, a Bayesian framework for causal assessment. Computational results regarding dose-response evidence are shown at the end of this article.

Clinical and Financial Implications of Medicine Consumption Patterns at a Leading Referral Hospital in Kenya to Guide Future Planning of Care

Background: Medicines can constitute up to 70% of total health care budgets in developing countries as well as considerable expenditure in hospitals. Inventory management techniques can assist with managing resources efficiently. In Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), a leading hospital in Kenya, over 30% of expenditure is currently allocated to medicines, and this needs to be optimally managed.

Objective: To investigate drug consumption patterns, their costs and morbidity patterns at KNH in recent years.

Methodology: Cross-sectional retrospective record review. Inventory control techniques, ABC (Always, Better, and Control), VEN (Vital, Essential, and Non-essential) and ABC-VEN matrix analyses were used to study drug expenditure patterns. Morbidity data was extracted from the Medical Records.

Results: Out of an average of 811 medicine types procured annually (ATC 5), 80% were formulary drugs and 20% were non-formulary. Class A medicines constituted 13.2–14.2% of different medicines procured each year but accounted for an average of 80% of total annual drug expenditure. Class B medicines constituted 15.9–17% of all the drugs procured yearly but accounted for 15% of the annual expenditure, whilst Class C medicines constituted 70% of total medicines procured but only 5% of the total expenditure. Vital and Essential medicines consumed the highest percentage of drug expenditure. ABC-VEN categorization showed that an average of 31% of medicine types consumed an average of 85% of total drug expenditure. Therapeutic category and Morbidity patterns analysis showed a mismatch between drug expenditure and morbidity patterns in over 85% of the categories.

Conclusion: Class A medicines are few but consume the largest proportion of hospital drug expenditure. Vital and essential items account for the highest drug expenditure, and need to be carefully managed. ABC-VEN categorization identified medicines where major savings could potentially be made helped by Therapeutic category and Morbidity pattern analysis. There was a high percentage of non-formulary items, which needs to be addressed. Inventory control techniques should be applied routinely to optimize medicine use within available budgets especially in low and middle income countries.

Adverse drug events identified in hospitalized patients in Brazil by International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) code listings

Studies of adverse drug events (ADEs) are important in order not to jeopardize the positive impact of pharmacotherapy. These events have substantial impact on the population morbidity profiles, and increasing health system operating costs. Administrative databases are an important source of information for public health purposes and for identifying ADEs. In order to contribute to learning about ADE in hospitalized patients, this study examined the potential of applying ICD-10 (10th revision of the International Classification of Diseases) codes to a national database of the public health care system (SIH-SUS). The study comprised retrospective assessment of ADEs in the SIH-SUS administrative database, from 2008 to 2012. For this, a list of ICD-10 codes relating to ADEs was built. This list was built up by examining lists drawn up by other authors identified by bibliographic search in the MEDLINE and LILACS and consultations with experts. In Brazil, 55,604,537 hospital admissions were recorded in the SIH-SUS, between 2008 and 2012, of which 273,440 (0.49%) were related to at least one ADE. The proportions and rates seem to hold constant over the study period. Fourteen out of 20 most frequent ADEs were identified in codes relating to mental disorders. Intoxications figure as the second most frequently recorded group of ADEs in the SIH-SUS, comprising 76,866 hospitalizations. Monitoring of ADEs in administrative databases using ICD-10 codes is feasible, even in countries with information systems under construction, and can be an innovative tool to complement drug surveillance strategies in place in Brazil, as well as in others countries.

Oral acyclovir induced hypokalemia and acute tubular necrosis a case report

Background

Acyclovir is one of the most common prescribed antiviral drugs. Acyclovir nephrotoxicity occurs in approximately 12–48% of cases. It can present in clinical practice as acute kidney injury (AKI), crystal-induced nephropathy, acute tubulointerstitial nephritis, and rarely, as tubular dysfunction. Electrolytes abnormalities like hypokalemia, were previously described only when given intravenously.

Case presentation

A 54 year-old female presented with weakness and lower extremities paresis, nausea and vomiting after receiving oral acyclovir. Physical examination disclosed a decrease in the patellar osteotendinous reflexes (++ / ++++). Laboratory data showed a serum creatinine level of 2.1 mg/dL; serum potassium 2.1 mmol/L. Kidney biopsy was obtained; histological findings were consistent with acute tubular necrosis and acute tubulointerstitial nephritis. The patient was advised to stop the medications and to start with oral and intravenous potassium supplement, symptoms improved and continued until serum potassium levels were > 3.5 meq/L.

Conclusions

The case reported in this vignette is unique since it is the first one to describe hypokalemia associated to acute tubular necrosis induced by oral acyclovir.

[Recommendation of ICD-10 codes for surveillance of adverse drug reactions and drug intoxication]

ICD-10 is the 10th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD), a medical classification list by the World Health Organization. It contains codes for diseases, signs and symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances, and external causes of injury or diseases. Associations between variables were evaluated using Pearson's chi-squared test and multiple correspondence analysis. Six hundred and ninety-one (691) codes were identified related to adverse drug reactions (52.1%) and drug poisoning (47.9%). A total of 687 (99.4%) and 511 (73.9%) codes were validated in 1st and 2nd validation, respectively. There were statistically significant differences (p <0.05) between adverse reactions and drug poisoning in the variables used to characterize the reference list. The association between drug and hospital admission and death was statistically significant when stratified by type of adverse event (p <0.001). Three groupings of codes were identified in multiple correspondence analysis where there are associations between categories of response assessed. The reference list can be a useful tool in pharmacovigilance actions in Brazil.

Impact of a pharmacist-driven pharmacovigilance system in a secondary hospital in the Gauteng Province of South Africa

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Under-reporting of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) by health-care professionals (HCPs) is a worldwide problem. Spontaneous reporting in hospitals is scarce and several obstacles have been identified for this. Improved hospital-based reports could make important contributions to future care. Consequently, the objective of this study was to develop, implement and evaluate a structured pharmacist-driven pharmacovigilance (PV) system for in-patient ADR reporting in a leading public hospital in South Africa for future use in South Africa and wider.

METHOD

Descriptive, operational intervention study with a pre-post design. Pharmacist-driven interventions targeted at ADR reporting were implemented. Convenience sampling was used to recruit HCPs [medical practitioners, pharmacists, pharmacist assistants, and nurses] to complete a self-administered questionnaire. The principal outcome measures were the number of the ADRs reported for inpatients, 18 months prior to and 18 months during the intervention period, as well as an evaluation of the intervention program in terms of continuous information and training.

RESULTS

There was a significant increase in the number of HCPs reporting an ADR post-intervention (33.8% up from 12.1%; p < 0.0001). Reasons for non-reporting decreased significantly, e.g. 'How, where and when to report' an ADR (p = 0.0027) and 'Concern that the report may be wrong' (p = 0.0041). HCPs' knowledge of the ADR reporting system also improved appreciably. This was apart from pharmacists who were already knowledgeable.

CONCLUSION

The results showed the benefits of pharmacist-driven interventions on HCPs' knowledge and awareness of PV and the number of the ADRs reported. Hospital management and policy makers should consider the important role pharmacists can play in improving rational and safe use of medicines among inpatients, based on appropriate training of HCPs and proper systems. As a result, help achieve the standards established by the Department of Health in South Africa.

Identifying Adverse Events Using International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision Y Codes in Korea: A Cross-sectional Study

Objectives

The use of administrative data is an affordable alternative to conducting a difficult large-scale medical-record review to estimate the scale of adverse events. We identified adverse events from 2002 to 2013 on the national level in Korea, using International Classification of Diseases, tenth revision (ICD-10) Y codes.

Methods

We used data from the National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort (NHIS-NSC). We relied on medical treatment databases to extract information on ICD-10 Y codes from each participant in the NHIS-NSC. We classified adverse events in the ICD-10 Y codes into 6 types: those related to drugs, transfusions, and fluids; those related to vaccines and immunoglobulin; those related to surgery and procedures; those related to infections; those related to devices; and others.

Results

Over 12 years, a total of 20 817 adverse events were identified using ICD-10 Y codes, and the estimated total adverse event rate was 0.20%. Between 2002 and 2013, the total number of such events increased by 131.3%, from 1366 in 2002 to 3159 in 2013. The total rate increased by 103.9%, from 0.17% in 2002 to 0.35% in 2013. Events related to drugs, transfusions, and fluids were the most common (19 446, 93.4%), followed by those related to surgery and procedures (1209, 5.8%) and those related to vaccines and immunoglobulin (72, 0.3%).

Conclusions

Based on a comparison with the results of other studies, the total adverse event rate in this study was significantly underestimated. Improving coding practices for ICD-10 Y codes is necessary to precisely monitor the scale of adverse events in Korea.

Role of personality traits in reporting the development of adverse drug reactions: a prospective cohort study of the Estonian general population

OBJECTIVE

To examine the role of the Five Factor Model (FFM) personality traits in reporting the development of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) when controlling for sociodemographic variables and health status.

DESIGN

Prospective cohort study.

SETTING

The Estonian Biobank of the Estonian Genome Centre, University of Tartu.

PARTICIPANTS

814 women and 543 men (mean age=47.9 years; SD=15.2) who after the initial enrolment in the Estonian Biobank were re-contacted for follow-up purposes about 5.3 years after the enrolment and for whom both self- and informant-reported personality data were available.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE

Participants who did not report having any ADRs at baseline but who reported ADRs at the follow-up about 5.3 years later versus participants who did not report any ADRs at either time point. The reports of developing ADRs were predicted from the FFM personality traits after statistically controlling for sociodemographic variables (age, gender and education), baseline indicators of health status (number of diagnoses and medicines taken, body mass index and blood pressure), and the change in health status between the two measurements.

RESULTS

The results of a hierarchical binary logistic regression analysis showed that participants who reported the development of ADRs between the two measurements had higher levels of conscientiousness, were more likely to be women, were taking more medicines at baseline and had a higher increase in the number of medicines taken during the study period than participants who did not report any ADRs at either time point (all p values <0.05). Higher neuroticism (p=0.067) and a higher number of diagnosed diseases at baseline (p=0.053) also made marginal contributions to predicting the development of ADRs.

CONCLUSIONS

This study shows for the first time that higher levels of conscientiousness and neuroticism are associated with reporting the development of ADRs.

Type B adverse drug reactions reported by an immunoallergology department

Objective:

Characterization of the adverse drug reactions (ADR) reported by the immunoallergology department (IAD), Centro Hospitalar de São João (Porto), to the Northern Pharmacovigilance Centre (NPC).

Methods:

An observational, descriptive and retrospective study was conducted, based in a spontaneous report system. Participants were all the patients from the IAD, with suspected ADR, reported to NPC by specialists after the study was completed.

Results:

Studied population had a median age of 41 years, with the predominance of the female gender (73.2%). Allergic rhinitis and asthma were the most frequent comorbidities. All studied ADR were type B, 89.6% were serious, 86.4% unexpected and 2.6% associated with drugs that presented less than 2 years in the market. The most represented drug classes were the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (52.6%) and antibiotics (25.2%). Skin symptoms represented 61.2% of the reported complaints. About 52.9% of these ADR occurred in less than one hour after intake. The most frequent ADR treatment at the time of the reaction was drug interruption (86.2%), followed by the prescription of anti-histamines (42.2%).

Conclusions:

Reported ADR to NPC by the Drug Alert Unit were mainly serious, unexpected, associated with NSAIDs and antibiotics and related with marketing authorization medicines older than two years. These results could be very useful to develop strategies to prevent the clinical and economic consequences of ADR.

Knowledge, attitudes and perspective on adverse drug reaction reporting in a public sector hospital in South Africa: baseline analysis

OBJECTIVE

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) can cause significant harm in patients; however, ADRs are under-reported in many countries, including South Africa, where evidence of a pharmacovigilance (PV) system to monitor and manage ADRs is a requirement for compliance with norms and standards for quality healthcare delivery. We conducted an analysis amongst health care professionals (HCPs) at Sebokeng Hospital to assess the situation there and make recommendations.

METHODS

Data were collected using a structured self-administered questionnaire, targeting all medical practitioners, nurses, pharmacists and pharmacist assistants in the hospital. Current procedures for reporting of ADRs were documented. Records were reviewed to determine the number of ADR reports submitted for the 18-month period prior to the study. Data were analysed with SAS. Ethical clearance was obtained.

RESULTS

The questionnaire was completed by 132 HCPs (nurses: 58.3%; medical practitioners: 23.5%; pharmacist assistants: 11.4%; pharmacists: 6.8%). The vast majority indicated ADR reporting is necessary (96.2%) and their professional obligation (89.4%). Only 18.9% were aware of an existing PV system in the hospital, 15.2% had an ADR form available and 18.9% knew to whom the form should be submitted. The vast majority had never reported an ADR, had never received training in PV, but wanted training on ADR reporting. Factors discouraging ADR reporting included not knowing how to report them (53.8%), lack of time (37.1%), additional work load (22.0%), uncertainty about the outcome of reporting (32.6%), and lack of confidence to discuss ADRs with colleagues (22.0%). Only 2.3% knew how many ADRs were reported, that ADRs are discussed by a committee (6.1%) and that internal feedback is received on reported ADRs (6.1%).

CONCLUSION

There is an extensive need in Sebokeng Hospital for training on ADR reporting and implementation of systems to facilitate relevant processes; a need which may also exist in other public hospitals in South Africa.

Polypharmacy and Unplanned Hospitalizations in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

OBJECTIVE

Polypharmacy (PP), the prescribing of multiple drugs for an individual, is rising in prevalence. PP associates with an increased risk of adverse drug reactions (ADR) and hospital admissions. We investigated the relationship between PP, characteristics of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and the risk of unplanned hospital admissions.

METHODS

Patients from a hospital RA cohort were retrospectively analyzed. Information was collected from electronic medical records. Cox proportional hazards were used to compare hospitalization risk according to levels of PP. Admissions were adjudicated to determine whether an ADR was implicated.

RESULTS

The study included 1101 patients; the mean number of all medications was 5. PP correlated with increasing age, disease duration, disease activity, and disability. At least 1 unplanned admission occurred for 16% of patients. Patients taking ≥ 10 medications had an adjusted HR for hospitalization of 3.1 (95% CI 2.1-4.5), compared to those taking 0-5 medications. Corticosteroid use associated with a doubling in adjusted risk of admission of 1.7 (95% CI 1.2-2.4). The most common reason for hospitalization was infection (28%). While in half of all admissions an ADR was a possible contributing factor, only 2% of admissions were found to directly result from an ADR.

CONCLUSION

PP is common in RA and is a prognostic marker associated with increased risk of acute hospitalizations. Our data suggest that PP may be an indicator of comorbidity burden rather than a contributing cause of a drug-related toxicity. PP should be monitored to minimize inappropriate combination of prescribed medications. PP may be a useful predictor of clinical outcomes in epidemiologic studies.

In silico methods for design of biological therapeutics

It has been twenty years since the first rationally designed small molecule drug was introduced into the market. Since then, we have progressed from designing small molecules to designing biotherapeutics. This class of therapeutics includes designed proteins, peptides and nucleic acids that could more effectively combat drug resistance and even act in cases where the disease is caused because of a molecular deficiency. Computational methods are crucial in this design exercise and this review discusses the various elements of designing biotherapeutic proteins and peptides. Many of the techniques discussed here, such as the deterministic and stochastic design methods, are generally used in protein design. We have devoted special attention to the design of antibodies and vaccines. In addition to the methods for designing these molecules, we have included a comprehensive list of all biotherapeutics approved for clinical use. Also included is an overview of methods that predict the binding affinity, cell penetration ability, half-life, solubility, immunogenicity and toxicity of the designed therapeutics. Biotherapeutics are only going to grow in clinical importance and are set to herald a new generation of disease management and cure.

Enabling personalized medicine in Europe by the European Commission's funding activities

Personalized medicine (PM) is an emerging approach to prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care. It helps to address the challenge of the aging of the population, an increase in chronic disease and increasing healthcare costs. The EU is developing policies to move toward PM. This is underpinned by a sustained and significant investment starting in 2010. So far, a total of €3.2 billion has been invested in PM research across the medical innovation cycle ‘from bench to bedside’. This investment has come from the research framework programs FP7 and Horizon 2020. About a third of the total investment has been made in the context of the Innovative Medicines Initiative, the largest public–private partnership in life sciences globally.

Prevention and Therapy of Acute Kidney Injury in the Developing World

Timely recognition of patients at risk or with possible acute kidney injury (AKI) is essential for early intervention to minimize further damage and improve outcome. Initial management of patients with suspected and persistent AKI should include thorough clinical assessment of all patients with AKI to identify reversible factors, including fluid volume status, potential nephrotoxins, and an assessment of the underlying health of the kidney. Based on these assessments, early interventions to provide appropriate and adequate fluid resuscitation while avoiding fluid overload, removal of nephrotoxins, and adjustment of drug doses according to the level of kidney function derangement are important. The judicious use of diuretics for fluid overload and/or in cardiac decompensated patients and introduction of early enteral nutritional support need to be considered to improve outcomes in AKI. Although these basic principles are well recognized, their application in clinical practice in low resource settings is often limited due to lack of education, availability of resources, and lack of trained personnel, which limits access to care. We report the consensus recommendations of the 18th Acute Dialysis Quality Initiative meeting in Hyderabad, India, on strategies to evaluate patients with suspected AKI and initiate measures for prevention and management to improve outcomes, particularly in low resource settings. These recomendations provide a framework for caregivers, who are often primary care physicians, nurses, and other allied healthcare personnel, to manage patients with AKI in resource poor countries.

Adverse drug events-Analysis of a decade. A Portuguese case-study, from 2004 to 2013 using hospital database

PURPOSE

The goal of this study was to characterise adverse drug events (ADE), including both adverse drug reaction (ADR) and accidental poisoning by drugs (AP), considering age, gender, length of stay (LOS), number of deaths and year, during the period 2004-2013. Additionally distributions of the ten's most frequent ADR and AP were characterized, considering age-group and gender.

METHODS

A retrospective descriptive nationwide study was conducted, based on the hospital discharges database in Portugal from 2004 to 2013, using ICD-9. Events were identified based on the following codes: from E930 to E949.9 and from E850 to E858.9.

RESULTS

A total of 9 320 076 patients were discharged within this period, with 133 688 patients (1.46%) having at least one ADE, 4% of them related with AP. The mean age of these patients was 63.79 years (SD 21.31), 54.50% were female and the mean LOS was 14.05 days (SD 22.19). Patient with AP had a mean age of 41.06 years (SD 34.05), 54.70% were female and LOS was 7.15 days (SD 19.42). We have identified 10.691 deaths that represent 8.00% from the total of patients with an ADE. The patients above 65 years were more affected by ADR and children below 18 were more affected by AP.

CONCLUSION

In the last decade an increasing trend of ADR were observed and an AP pattern relatively stable. Elderly people and children were the age groups most affected. Antibiotics (in ADR) and benzodiazepine-based tranquilizers (in AP) were the major problems. This is a huge, increasing and challenging problem. Further research, using individual and contextual risk factors should be developed to understand spatiotemporal variability, promoting tailored interventions, within and across countries.

A decade of adverse drug events in Portuguese hospitals: space-time clustering and spatial variation in temporal trends

Background

The aim of this study is to identify the distribution by municipalities of adverse drug events (ADE) in Portugal, including adverse drug reactions (ADR) and accidental poisoning by drugs (AP), on municipality/years ADE rate clustering. Also we identify areas with different trends in time.

Methods

We used a national dataset of public hospital discharges in Continental Portugal from 2004 to 2013. Events were identified based on codes: from E930 to E949.9 (ADR) and from E850 to E858.9 (AP). Space-time clustering and spatial variation in temporal trends methods were applied in three different time-periods: globally, by year and grouped in 2 classes (periods of 5 years).

Results

A total of 9,320,076 patients were discharged within this period, with 133,688 patients (1.46%) having at least one ADE, 4% of them related with AP. Critical space-time identified clusters (p < 0.001) were the municipalities from Lisbon metropolitan area and Centro region area. The global rate increased at a 7.8% mean annual percentage change, with high space-time heterogeneity and variation in time trends clusters (p < 0.001). For whole period, 2004–2013, all clusters presented increasing trends. However when analyzed by period of 5 years we identified two clusters with decreasing trends in time in 2004–2008.

Conclusion

The impact of ADE is huge, with widely variations within country and in time, and represents an increasing challenge. Future research using individual and contextual risk factors are urgently needed to understand this spatiotemporal variability in order to promote local tailored and updated actions of prevention.

Pharmacological Threat to Lungs: A Case Series and Literature Review

Drug-induced organ damage stands as a prevalent yet much-neglected issue globally. Keeping in view it’s rising frequency, health care providers stand obliged to be well versed with the de-merits of the agents they prescribe. Drug therapies causing damage present with a non-specific clinical presentation, histological findings or radiology, which further elaborates on the necessity of a conscientious diagnosis. Pulmonary architecture ranging from the airways, lung parenchyma, mediastinum, pleura, pulmonary vasculature or the neuromuscular system, all can fall victim to the dreaded outcomes of this menace. In order to establish successful diagnosis, the definite temporal relation between initiation of drug therapy and the development of the respiratory symptoms needs to be drawn. The most common form of pharmacologically arising lung toxicity is drug-induced pneumonitis or interstitial lung disease. Unfortunately, there is no adequate data available to review the extensiveness of this medication-associated risk in Pakistan which further highlights the necessity of carefully monitoring this overlooked yet assessable malady. Furthermore, identification and surveillance of this drug attributed peril shall help diminish burden on healthcare resources of the country. We present three recent cases of different types of drug-induced lung damage under treatment at our University Hospital.

Acute kidney disease and renal recovery: consensus report of the Acute Disease Quality Initiative (ADQI) 16 Workgroup

Consensus definitions have been reached for both acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) and these definitions are now routinely used in research and clinical practice. The KDIGO guideline defines AKI as an abrupt decrease in kidney function occurring over 7 days or less, whereas CKD is defined by the persistence of kidney disease for a period of >90 days. AKI and CKD are increasingly recognized as related entities and in some instances probably represent a continuum of the disease process. For patients in whom pathophysiologic processes are ongoing, the term acute kidney disease (AKD) has been proposed to define the course of disease after AKI; however, definitions of AKD and strategies for the management of patients with AKD are not currently available. In this consensus statement, the Acute Disease Quality Initiative (ADQI) proposes definitions, staging criteria for AKD, and strategies for the management of affected patients. We also make recommendations for areas of future research, which aim to improve understanding of the underlying processes and improve outcomes for patients with AKD.

Adverse drug reactions to anticoagulants in Spain: analysis of the Spanish National Hospital Discharge Data (2010-2013)

OBJECTIVE

To describe and analyse hospitalisations for adverse drug reactions (ADRs) involving anticoagulants. We also analysed the progress of the reactions over time, the factors related with ADRs.

DESIGN

A retrospective, descriptive, epidemiological study.

SETTING

This study used the Spanish National Hospital Discharge Database (Conjunto Mínimo Básico de Datos, CMBD), over a 4-year period.

PARTICIPANTS

We selected CMBD data corresponding to hospital discharges with a diagnosis of ADRs to anticoagulants (International Classification of Diseases-Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) code E934.2) in any diagnostic field during the study period.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

We calculated the annual incidence of ADRs to anticoagulants according to sex and age groups. The median lengths of hospital stay and in-hospital mortality (IHM) were also estimated for each year studied. Bivariate analyses of the changes in variables according to year were based on Poisson regression. IHM was analysed using logistic regression models. The estimates were expressed as ORs and their 95% CI.

RESULTS

During the study period, 50 042 patients were hospitalised because of ADRs to anticoagulants (6.38% of all ADR-related admissions). The number of cases increased from 10 415 in 2010 to 13 891 in 2013. Cumulative incidence of ADRs to anticoagulants was significantly higher for men than women and in all age groups. An adjusted multivariate analysis revealed that IHM did not change significantly over time. We observed a statistically significant association between IHM and age, with the highest risk for the ≥85 age group (OR 2.67; 95% CI 2.44 to 2.93).

CONCLUSIONS

The incidence of ADRs to anticoagulants in Spain increased from 2010 to 2013, and was significantly higher for men than women and in all age groups. Older patients were particularly susceptible to being hospitalised with an adverse reaction to an anticoagulant.