Prevalence and assessment of factors contributing to adverse drug reactions in wards of a tertiary care hospital, India

BACKGROUND

Adverse drug reactions account for the highest proportion among the causes of morbidity and mortality in clinical wards and are posing a considerable challenge. Hence, the objective of this study was to find out the prevalence of adverse drug reactions and the factors which contribute to their prevalence.

METHODS

A prospective patient record review was carried out at a tertiary care hospital in North India from August 2010-May 2011. A total of 1033 subjects admitted to hospital for any kind of treatment were included while patients admitted in the ward because of adverse drug reactions were excluded. The ward where we collected the data includes multispecialty and cardiovascular wards. The causality, severity, and preventability of adverse drug reactions were assessed using Naranjo, modified Hartwig, and Schumock and Thornton criteria, respectively. Kolmogorov-Smyrnov, chi -square and multiple logistic regression tests were used to determine adverse drug reactions ascribed to drugs.

RESULTS

Out of 1033 patients whose records were assessed, 167(16.2%) experienced one or more adverse drug reactions. The metabolic systems, which accounted for 49(24.6%) were most frequently affected by adverse drug reactions, followed by gastrointestinal, 45(22.6%); hematological, 28(14.1%) and cutaneous, 21(10.6%) systems. The drug classes most frequently associated with the reactions were antibiotics 40(20.1%), diuretics 35(17.6%) and anticoagulants 30(15.1%). According to the selected preventability scale, 72(36.2%) adverse drug reactions were classified as probably or definitely preventable. About 165(83%) of the reactions were type A, which represents augmentation of the pharmacological action of a drug. Number of drugs, length of hospitalization and number of diagnosis were identified as significant predisposing factors for ADRs.

CONCLUSION

The result of this study suggested that adverse drug reactions were significant causes of superimposed health problems that occur following hospitalization. The major risk factors associated with ADR include number of drugs, length of hospitalization and number of diagnosis. Based on the findings a rigorous study is recommended to determine the burden and identify the risk factors of adverse drug reactions to target interventions.