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The burden of serious adverse drug reactions in South Africa

Background The burden of serious adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in South Africa (SA) is not well characterised, and may be influenced by the high HIV prevalence. This thesis aims to describe this burden, by reporting findings of three hospital-based surveys of (1) ADRs causing death among adult medic...

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Main Author: Mouton, Johannes P
Other Authors: Cohen, Karen
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Department of Medicine 2022
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access_status_str Open Access
author Mouton, Johannes P
author2 Cohen, Karen
author_browse Cohen, Karen
Mouton, Johannes P
author_facet Cohen, Karen
Mouton, Johannes P
author_sort Mouton, Johannes P
collection Thesis
description Background The burden of serious adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in South Africa (SA) is not well characterised, and may be influenced by the high HIV prevalence. This thesis aims to describe this burden, by reporting findings of three hospital-based surveys of (1) ADRs causing death among adult medical inpatients, (2) ADRs causing admission of adults to medical wards, and (3) serious ADRs causing admission, prolongation of existing admission, or death among paediatric medical inpatients. Survey findings are contextualised in a systematic review of studies characterising serious ADR burden in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Methods In each of the three surveys, folder review with the assistance of trigger tools was used to identify potential serious ADRs. Multidisciplinary teams assessed causality, preventability, and seriousness of these events using published criteria. The World Health Organization-Uppsala Monitoring Centre system for standardised case causality assessment was used. This choice was informed by a study using a sample of cases from one of our adult surveys, which demonstrated its higher interrater agreement compared with the Liverpool ADR Causality Assessment Tool. Multivariable logistic regression was used to explore associations between demographic and clinical factors and the occurrence of serious ADRs. Results Among adult medical inpatients 56 of 357 deaths (16%) and 164 of 1951 admissions (8.4%) were ADR-related, and 43% and 45% respectively of these serious ADRs were preventable. Drugs used in the management of HIV and tuberculosis were frequently implicated. Among paediatric inpatients 3.8 serious ADRs occurred per 100 drug-exposed admissions, of which 23% were preventable and 20% fatal or near-fatal. A broad range of drugs was implicated in these serious paediatric ADRs. HIV positive status was independently associated with an increased risk of ADRs in every survey. Fifteen studies contributed to the systematic review. The median proportion of admissions attributed to ADRs was 6.4% [IQR 4.0% to 8.4%] among nine active surveillance studies in adults in SSA, with antiretroviral and antituberculosis drugs often implicated in serious ADRs. Conclusions Fatal, near-fatal, and hospitalising ADRs occurred frequently in South African hospitals. Many of these serious ADRs, particularly in adults, were preventable. Serious ADRs should be addressed in patient and health worker education, and safety monitoring systems improved. In SA and SSA the high HIV prevalence appears to be a driver of serious ADRs.
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provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
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spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/36697 The burden of serious adverse drug reactions in South Africa Mouton, Johannes P Cohen, Karen Maartens, Gary medicine Background The burden of serious adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in South Africa (SA) is not well characterised, and may be influenced by the high HIV prevalence. This thesis aims to describe this burden, by reporting findings of three hospital-based surveys of (1) ADRs causing death among adult medical inpatients, (2) ADRs causing admission of adults to medical wards, and (3) serious ADRs causing admission, prolongation of existing admission, or death among paediatric medical inpatients. Survey findings are contextualised in a systematic review of studies characterising serious ADR burden in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Methods In each of the three surveys, folder review with the assistance of trigger tools was used to identify potential serious ADRs. Multidisciplinary teams assessed causality, preventability, and seriousness of these events using published criteria. The World Health Organization-Uppsala Monitoring Centre system for standardised case causality assessment was used. This choice was informed by a study using a sample of cases from one of our adult surveys, which demonstrated its higher interrater agreement compared with the Liverpool ADR Causality Assessment Tool. Multivariable logistic regression was used to explore associations between demographic and clinical factors and the occurrence of serious ADRs. Results Among adult medical inpatients 56 of 357 deaths (16%) and 164 of 1951 admissions (8.4%) were ADR-related, and 43% and 45% respectively of these serious ADRs were preventable. Drugs used in the management of HIV and tuberculosis were frequently implicated. Among paediatric inpatients 3.8 serious ADRs occurred per 100 drug-exposed admissions, of which 23% were preventable and 20% fatal or near-fatal. A broad range of drugs was implicated in these serious paediatric ADRs. HIV positive status was independently associated with an increased risk of ADRs in every survey. Fifteen studies contributed to the systematic review. The median proportion of admissions attributed to ADRs was 6.4% [IQR 4.0% to 8.4%] among nine active surveillance studies in adults in SSA, with antiretroviral and antituberculosis drugs often implicated in serious ADRs. Conclusions Fatal, near-fatal, and hospitalising ADRs occurred frequently in South African hospitals. Many of these serious ADRs, particularly in adults, were preventable. Serious ADRs should be addressed in patient and health worker education, and safety monitoring systems improved. In SA and SSA the high HIV prevalence appears to be a driver of serious ADRs. 2022-08-18T05:32:39Z 2022-08-18T05:32:39Z 2022 2022-08-17T22:21:20Z Doctoral Thesis Doctoral PhD http://hdl.handle.net/11427/36697 eng application/pdf Department of Medicine Faculty of Health Sciences
spellingShingle medicine
Mouton, Johannes P
The burden of serious adverse drug reactions in South Africa
thesis_degree_str Doctoral
title The burden of serious adverse drug reactions in South Africa
title_full The burden of serious adverse drug reactions in South Africa
title_fullStr The burden of serious adverse drug reactions in South Africa
title_full_unstemmed The burden of serious adverse drug reactions in South Africa
title_short The burden of serious adverse drug reactions in South Africa
title_sort burden of serious adverse drug reactions in south africa
topic medicine
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/36697
work_keys_str_mv AT moutonjohannesp theburdenofseriousadversedrugreactionsinsouthafrica
AT moutonjohannesp burdenofseriousadversedrugreactionsinsouthafrica