Research & Reviews: Journal of Hospital and Clinical Pharmacy Monitoring Of Adverse Drug Reactions in Elderly Patients in an Indian Tertiary Care Hospital

ABSTRACT Aim: Present study was carried out to assess the incidence of adverse drug reactions (ADR) and assessment of causality, severity, preventability and additional financial burden associated with reported suspected ADRs. Methodology: A prospective spontaneous reporting study was conducted over a period of six months in inpatients of medicine wards and medical intensive care unit at Bharati Hospital, Pune. WHO Probability scale was used for causality assessment. Reported ADRs were classified according to Wills & Brown classification and assessed for severity using scale was developed. Average cost incurred in treating an ADR was calculated. Results: A total of 319 suspected ADRs were reported and evaluated from 78 patients showing an overall incidence of 9.17%. Most of the ADRs were augmented type, whose pharmacology is known. 66% ADRs were classified as "POSSIBLE" in view of causality, while 87% were found to be "MILD" in case of severity. Preventability was found to be 22.87%. Average cost incurred in treating an ADR in hospitalized inpatients was found to be Rs.1328.71 (US $21.90) in India. Conclusion: Incidence of ADRs was more in hospitalized patients compared to ADR induced hospital admission. Awareness about ADR reporting is still poor amongst healthcare professionals in India. Average cost incurred for treating ADR leading to hospital admission was higher