Adverse drug event-tied ER visits up with chronic conditions

(HealthDay)—Children with complex chronic conditions (CCCs) are more likely to have an adverse drug event (ADE)-related emergency department visit, according to a study published online May 19 in Pediatrics.

James A. Feinstein, M.D., M.P.H., from the Children's Hospital Colorado in Aurora, and colleagues conducted a retrospective study using a national sample of pediatric patients (aged 0 to 18 years) who visited an emergency department. External cause of injury codes were used to identify ADEs.

The researchers found that 0.5 percent of 144 million emergency department visits were associated with ADEs. ADEs were associated with the presence of a CCC (odds ratio, 4.76), after adjustment for age, gender, insurance type, day of week, and location of hospital. There was a significant difference in the implicated medications based on CCC status. ADEs correlated with subsequent inpatient admission (odds ratio, 2.18) for all children after adjustment for the same variables, with no significant interaction between ADE and CCC status.

"Emergency department visits associated with ADEs were more likely to occur for children with CCCs, and the implicated drugs differed, but ADE-related admissions were not differentially affected by CCC status," the authors write.