A quarter of adverse drug reactions, some of them very serious, could be prevented, researchers say.

A recent survey reveals that over 90 per cent of patients aged 65 or older are taking at least one prescription medication. Twelve per cent are taking as many as 10 or more different drugs a week. So there's much potential for adverse drug reactions which may be serious or even life-threatening.

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts have done a study of 27,617 patients over 65 during a one year period and found that 1,523 adverse drug events occurred, of which 27.6 per cent were preventable. Of the adverse drug events, 38 per cent were classified as serious, life-threatening or fatal and as many as 42.2 per cent of these more serious events could have been prevented.

Preventable adverse effects arose from errors in prescribing and monitoring drugs and also from patients not taking medication properly. Problems were more likely to arise from heart drugs, diuretics, antibiotics, analgesics and anticoagulants. More checking during prescribing and better patient education could help eliminate many adverse drug events.

Source

Journal of the American Medical Association 5th March 2003