Adverse drug reactions double in a decade, hospital data show
Deaths related to medicines have also risen, despite all other hospital deaths declining
9th October 2018
Adverse reactions to medication requiring hospitalisation have doubled over a period of 13 years, a NSW study shows.
A review of all state hospital data shows that admissions related to pharmaceutical drugs — excluding those arising from medication error — have increased by 5.8% a year between 2001 and 2014.
Meanwhile, deaths related to medicines have risen by 2.4% during the study period.
The age-adjusted rate of hospital admissions related to adverse reactions increased from 220 per 100,000 patients to more than 430 per 100,000,