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Computerized surveillance for adverse drug events in a pediatric hospital

Peter M Kilbridge1, Laura A Noirot, Richard M Reichley

  • 1St. Louis Children's Hospital, One Children's Place, St Louis, MO 63110, USA. kilbridge_p@kids.wustl.edu

Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA
|July 2, 2009
PubMed

Insights

An automated system effectively detected adverse drug events (ADEs) in hospitalized children, identifying 160 true ADEs. This surveillance method offers a valuable approach to improving pediatric patient safety and medication management.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Pharmacology
  • Health Informatics
  • Patient Safety

Background:

  • Limited data exist on adverse drug event (ADE) rates in pediatric populations.
  • Accurate ADE detection is crucial for improving medication safety in children.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To implement and evaluate an automated surveillance system for detecting adverse drug events (ADEs) in pediatric patients.
  • To assess the effectiveness and yield of an automated ADE detection system in a large pediatric hospital.

Main Methods:

  • An automated surveillance system was developed to screen hospital admissions for potential ADEs.
  • Potential ADEs were reviewed by medication safety pharmacists and a physician for causality and severity.
  • The system was evaluated over a 6-month period involving 6,889 pediatric patients.

Main Results:

  • The system generated 1226 alerts, identifying 160 true ADEs.
  • The rate of ADEs was 2.3 per 100 admissions or 4 per 1,000 patient-days.
  • The positive predictive value of the automated surveillance system was 13%.

Conclusions:

  • Automated surveillance is an effective method for detecting adverse drug events in hospitalized children.
  • This system can aid in identifying at-risk medications, including diuretics, antibiotics, and anticonvulsants.
  • Implementation of such systems can enhance pediatric patient safety and medication monitoring.

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