United States adverse drug reactions

Meanwhile, these chemicals—like chemical agents encountered at work or in hobbies or as pollutants in air, water, soil, or food—can also cause harm. Sometimes the known mechanisms of action permit us to predict the nature of toxicity to be expected. A meta-analysis of prospective studies from U.S. hospitals indicates that 6.7% of in-patients have serious adverse drug reactions 0.3% have fatal reactions (Lazarou et al., 1998). In fact, estimates of 40,000 to 100,000 deaths per year attributed to errors in medical care, primarily due to adverse reactions to pharmaceuticals, make this phenomenon a major cause of death in the United States (Meyer, 2000). A tremendous... 

Chyka, P.A. and McEommon, S.W. (2000). Reporting of adverse drug reactions by poison control centers in the United States. Drug Safety 23 87-93. 

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) cost approximately one hundred and thirty nine billion dollars annually 2—4 in the United States. This number is larger than the... 

Some side effects, or adverse effects, of drugs can be fatal. Adverse drug reactions are one of the top 10 causes of death in hospitalized patients in the United States—as many as 100,000 deaths per year Even aspirin at low doses, recommended to prevent heart attacks and stroke, can kill under the right conditions Fatal bleeding can occur in patients who have an undetected clotting disorder and take aspirin r ularly. 

It has been found that the vast majority of elderly patients being treated for a psychiatric disorder also have at least one physical disorder that requires medication 80% of all elderly patients in the United States have at least one chronic physical illness. Thus the elderly are the most likely group to experience adverse drug reactions and interactions. Studies show that patients over the age of 70 years have approximately twice as many adverse drug reactions as those under 50 years. 

It has been reported that there is a ninefold increased risk of having an adverse drug reaction when four or more drugs are taken simultaneously. In addition, 3-5 percent of all hospital admissions are related to adverse drug reactions, and of all the admissions for the elderly, 15-25 percent are complicated by an adverse drug reaction. Some of these reactions are life-threatening, and it is estimated that fatal adverse drug reactions in the United States may run in the thousands each year. 

Chyka PA. How many deaths occur annually from adverse drug reactions in the United States Am J Med 2000 109(2) 122-30. 

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