Adverse Drug Reactions in a Cardiology Department

Abstract

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) pose an important problem in most healthcare areas. However, their importance in cardiology services has not previously been clearly quantified. Between 1985 and 1993, we performed a prospective observational study to evaluate the importance of ADRs in patients admitted to a cardiology department. Of the 1023 patients studied, 11 (1.1%) had an adverse reaction at the time of hospitalisation and 132 (12.9%) had at least one ADR while hospitalised. Ten of 11 ADRs at the time of hospitalisation were the reason for hospitalisation. A total of 178 (2.6% of the 6801 prescriptions) adverse reactions were detected during hospitalisation. The most frequently encountered adverse reactions were nonspecific gastrointestinal problems (n = 34) and headache (n = 33). Digoxin was the drug most frequently implicated in patients hospitalised because of ADRs. Nitrates, calcium antagonists, β-adrenoceptor antagonists and digitalis compounds were the drug classes most frequently associated with ADRs during hospitalisation. The length of hospital stay was almost 5 days longer in patients who developed ADRs during hospitalisation than in those who did not. ADR patients consumed 2.5 more drugs than non-ADR patients. Thus, ADRs during, or leading to, hospitalisation in patients in cardiology departments are associated with important health and economic consequences.