Abstract
BackgroundThe objectives of the study were to estimate the incidence of intensive care unit (ICU) admissions due to adverse drug events (ADEs), to assess preventability, severity and costs of the corresponding ADE and to determine the leading causes of preventable ADEs.MethodsAn observational study was conducted in a medical ICU of a teaching hospital from February 2013 to February 2014.ResultsA total of 743 consecutive admissions were included, and they involved 701 different patients. The included admissions were categorized into three groups (admissions due to preventable ADE, admissions due to unpreventable ADE and the control group). Among the 743 ICU admissions included during the study period, 173 (23.3 %) were due to ADE, with 102 (13.7 %) related to preventable ADE and 71 (9.6 %) to unpreventable ADE, yielding a preventability rate of ADE of 0.59 (102/173). Admissions due to unpreventable ADE concerned patients with more comorbidities, a greater number of drugs and higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II than admissions due to preventable ADE and the control group admissions (n = 570). Hospital mortality rates, corresponding costs and length of stay were all similar in the preventable ADE and control groups, whereas they were always significantly higher in the unpreventable ADE group. ICU mortality, length of stay and the corresponding costs were similar in the three groups. Non-compliance was the principal leading cause of preventable ADE (n = 31/102). The 102 preventable ADE-related admissions accounted for a total of 528 days of hospitalization in the ICU, requiring a mean of 1.4 ICU beds per day over the one-year period, with an associated total cost amounting to 747,651 €.ConclusionsADE was a major cause of admission in the studied ICU, and in 59 % of the cases, ADEs were preventable. The reported burden of ICU admissions due to ADE advocates for further investigations to explore how the rate of such admissions could be decreased.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13613-016-0109-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
The objectives of the study were to estimate the incidence of intensive care unit (ICU) admissions due to adverse drug events (ADEs), to assess preventability, severity and costs of the corresponding ADE and to determine the leading causes of preventable ADEs
Based on the admissions observed in a medical ICU during a one-year period, our main objective was to determine the incidence of ICU admissions due to an ADE
We identified which admissions were related to a preventable ADE and determined the leading causes of the corresponding ADE, and which were related to an unpreventable ADE
Summary
The objectives of the study were to estimate the incidence of intensive care unit (ICU) admissions due to adverse drug events (ADEs), to assess preventability, severity and costs of the corresponding ADE and to determine the leading causes of preventable ADEs. Drug-related problems are a significant burden for healthcare facilities as they account for 5.3–12.1 % of hospital admissions, depending on the studies and the. ME, as opposed to ADR, can be defined as “any preventable events that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication or patient harm while the medication is in the control of the healthcare professional, patient or consumer” [3]. We identified which admissions were related to a preventable ADE and determined the leading causes of the corresponding ADE, and which were related to an unpreventable ADE. The severity of patients’ condition, the LOS and the associated costs were compared in the three groups of admissions considered: preventable ADE-attributed admissions, unpreventable ADE-attributed admissions and the control group
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
