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Published on: September 20, 2018
Improving Pediatric Adverse Drug Event Reporting through Clinical Pharmacy Services
Summary
Pharmacists are key to adverse drug event (ADE) reporting in pediatric hospitals, with their system design contributing to consistent reporting. This study analyzed 863 ADEs over 10 years, finding pharmacists reported 83% of events.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Pharmacology
- Patient Safety
- Drug Surveillance
Background:
- Adverse drug events (ADEs) are a significant concern in pediatric healthcare settings.
- Effective reporting systems are crucial for identifying and mitigating ADEs.
- Understanding the role of different healthcare professionals in ADE reporting is essential for system improvement.
Purpose of the Study:
- To summarize adverse drug event (ADE) reporting trends over a decade.
- To characterize the types of healthcare practitioners involved in ADE reporting.
- To analyze ADE data from a university-affiliated children's hospital.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of the University of Virginia Children's Hospital ADE database from 2000-2009.
- Inclusion of pediatric patients (<18 years of age).
- Data collected included drug, event description, severity, causality, outcome, and reporter type.
Main Results:
- A total of 863 ADEs were reported, with extravasation injury (10%) and rash (8%) being most common.
- Moderate (47%) and severe (32%) ADEs constituted the majority of reported events.
- Pharmacists reported 83% of ADEs, followed by nurses (16%).
Conclusions:
- ADE reporting patterns in this children's hospital align with previous studies.
- The system design, emphasizing unit-based pharmacists as primary reporters, contributes to consistent ADE reporting.
- Pharmacist-led reporting appears effective in capturing a high volume of ADEs in pediatric populations.
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