Prevalence and preventability of adverse drug events in a teaching hospital: a cross-sectional study

East Mediterr Health J. 2009 Sep-Oct;15(5):1145-55.

Abstract

We determined the prevalence of adverse drug events (ADEs) in a general teaching hospital in Rabat, Morocco. We performed a 5-day cross-sectional study of hospital departments recruiting inpatients and outpatients. Among the 1390 patients surveyed, 59 (4.2%) experienced at least 1 ADE and for 20 patients (1.4%) the ADE was responsible for hospitalization or prolongation of hospitalization. The ADE was classified as serious in 28 patients. Of the total of 76 ADEs, 10 (13.2%) were categorized as preventable; 6 of these occurred during the treatment monitoring phase. Patients who experienced an ADE were more likely to be women, to be younger (< 30 years) and to be hospitalized in medical departments.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting Systems
  • Aged
  • Chi-Square Distribution
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Drug Monitoring
  • Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions* / chemically induced
  • Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions* / epidemiology
  • Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions* / prevention & control
  • Female
  • Hospitals, General* / statistics & numerical data
  • Hospitals, Teaching* / statistics & numerical data
  • Humans
  • Length of Stay / statistics & numerical data
  • Male
  • Medication Errors* / mortality
  • Medication Errors* / prevention & control
  • Medication Errors* / statistics & numerical data
  • Middle Aged
  • Morbidity
  • Morocco / epidemiology
  • Pharmacoepidemiology
  • Prevalence
  • Risk Factors
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Statistics, Nonparametric