Summary

Adverse drug events associated with emergency departments visits

Jesús Ruiz Ramos1, Rosario Santolaya Perrín2, María Ángeles García Martín3, Yolanda Castellanos Clemente4, Montserrat Alonso Díez5, Ana de Lorenzo Pinto6, Ana Such Díaz7, Amparo Fernández de Simón Almela8, Paloma Sempere Serrano9, Ana Suárez-Lledó Grande10, Cristina Calzón Blanco11


Affiliation of the authors

1Hospital Santa Cruz y San Pablo, Barcelona, Spain. 2Hospital Príncipe de Asturias, Barcelona, Spain. 3Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, Spain. 4Hospital Universitario de Fuenlabrada, Madrid, Spain. 5Hospital Universitario Basurto, Bilbao, Spain. 6Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain. 7Hospital Infanta Leonor, Madrid, Spain. 8Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío, Sevilla, Spain. 9Complexo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago, Santiado de Compostela, Spain. 10Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge, Barcelona, Spain. 11Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias, Oviedo, Spain, en representación del Grupo de trabajo FARM-URG.

DOI

Quote

Ruiz Ramos J, Santolaya Perrín R, García Martín MA, Castellanos Clemente Y, Alonso Díez M, de Lorenzo Pinto A, et al. Adverse drug events associated with emergency departments visits. Emergencias. 2025;37:196-202

Summary

Objective.

Adverse drug events (ADEs) are a well-known cause for emergency department visits. The objective of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of these adverse events through an annual multicentcer cross-sectional registry and identify factors associated with new emergency visits within 30 days following discharge.

Methods.

We conducted a multicenter cross-sectional study in emergency departments of Spanish hospitals. The identification and registration of patients were obtained from the census of patients treated in emergency departments at the end of the of the 5-year registry period. We used a multivariate logistic regression model to evaluate possible risk factors for new emergency visits within 30 days of discharge.

Results.

A total of 10,678 patients were evaluated in 53 centers, 785 of whom (7.35%) consulted due to ADEs. Prevalence ranged from 0% up to 14.3%. Antithrombotic drugs were the therapeutic group responsible for the highest number of events, causing 96 of them (25.9%). Regarding AEs, hemorrhagic events (n = 63; 8.1%), followed by episodes of confusion (n = 42; 5.4%), were the most common ones. A total of 86 (23.5%) evaluable patients returned to the emergency department within 30 days of discharge. Chronic prescription of > 10 drugs was
associated with a higher risk of new consultations [OR, 1.65 (1.07-2.56)].

Conclusions.

ADEs are a common reason for emergency department visits and are associated with a significant number of subsequent visits after discharge. Severe polypharmacy is a risk factor for new emergency visits within 30 days.

 

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