Drug reactions cause about 3% of admissions to French hospitals

To assess how many admissions nationally are caused by adverse drug reactions Pouyanne et al studied admissions to a representative sample of medical wards across France (p 1036). of 3137 patients admitted, 100 (3.19%) had been admitted because of an adverse drug reaction. Seventy eight patients recovered completely, and nine died, four of them because of the adverse effect. The incidence of admission because of a reaction rose with age, and gastrointestinal complications were the most common complaint. Cardiac stimulants and antiarrhythmic drugs were the commonest causes.


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Relevant Article

Admissions to hospital caused by adverse drug reactions: cross sectional incidence study
Pierre Pouyanne, Françoise Haramburu, Jean Louis Imbs, and Bernard Bégaud
BMJ 2000 320: 1036. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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