Study of proportion and pattern of adverse drug events among patients coming to health centers in urban and rural areas

Abstract

Background: Adverse drug events (ADE) are rated as the fifth leading cause of death among all diseases. Approximately 5-8% of all hospitalization worldwide is due to ADE. The present study was conducted with the aim of analyzing the pattern of Adverse Drug events in patients coming to urban and rural health care centres, their manifestations and severity.Methods: The study type useful in this study was cross sectional study. This method is helpful to find the exact duration of occurrence of ADE after administration of drug and to know what kind of adverse event patient is suffering from.Results: There are many studies done in peripheral health care centres regarding ADE in India. In our study, out of 250 patients, 125 were from urban and 125 were from rural. Among the 125 patients from urban 3.2% (4 cases) adverse drug events- reported. Among the 125 patients from rural 4% (5 cases)adverse drug events- reported.Conclusions: This study provides a baseline idea about the knowledge and perception toward ADEs among patients visiting an outpatient department at urban and rural hospital in India. Respondents were unaware about the process of reporting ADEs, reporting by the consumers, and the possible benefits to them by doing so. There is a strong need to do the work to make consumers aware about the same. Educational interventions are needed to improve awareness among patients regarding importance of ADE reporting.