Characteristics of Adverse Drug Events Originating During the Hospital Stay, 2011 (U.S)

Characteristics 

Highlights

The most common specifically identified causes of ADEs that originated during the hospital stay in 2011 were steroids, antibiotics, opiates and narcotics, and anticoagulants. Nearly 8 in 1,000 adults aged 65 years or older experienced one of the four most common ADEs during hospitalization. Compared to adults aged 18-44 years, infants had a lower rate and older adults had a higher rate of ADEs across all four causes. Children aged 1-17 had a higher rate of ADEs involving antibiotics but lower rates of ADEs involving steroids and anticoagulants. Females had a higher rate of ADEs involving opiates and narcotics and a lower rate of ADEs involving anticoagulants compared to males. Compared to privately insured patients, Medicare-covered patients had higher rates and Medicaid-covered patients had lower rates across the four ADE causes. Patients treated in urban teaching hospitals had higher rates of ADEs involving antibiotics and opiates/narcotics compared to those treated in urban nonteaching hospitals. Patients treated in private, not-for-profit hospitals had higher rates for most ADE causes compared to those treated in public or private, for-profit hospitals. Patients in the Midwest had higher in-hospital ADE rates for all four ADE causes compared to patients in any other region.

Table 1. Characteristics of the most frequent specific causes of adverse drug events originating during the hospital stay, selected States, 2011