Adverse drug events

doi:10.1136/bmj.b3146

Published 4 August 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b3146
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b3146

Letters

Heat waves and the elderly

Adverse drug events

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The exceptional heat wave in 2003 led to excess mortality, particularlyin elderly people¹—in France about 14 800 deaths, mainlyamong people over 70.²

We evaluated adverse drug reactions reported to the French networkof pharmacovigilance centres during the summer of 2003 in patientsolder than 70.³ Sixty eight reactions were serious. They weremainly metabolic (dehydration, hydroelectrolytic disorders)and neuropsychiatric (confusion, disorientation, coma). Thedrugs frequently implicated were diuretics, angiotensin convertingenzyme inhibitors, serotoninergic antidepressants, proton pumpinhibitors, digoxin, benzodiazepines, and sartans.

Pharmacoepidemiological studies are needed to help doctors toreconsider patients’ treatments during a heat wave andinform patients and families of the drug related dangers. Inthe summer of 2007 the French drug agency instigated a multicentrecase-control pilot study of drug exposure in patients olderthan 65 admitted for hyperthermia or dehydration.⁴ Althoughthere was no heat wave that year, similar methods can be used. . . [Full text of this article]

Agnès Sommet, pharmacoepidemiologist¹, Anne Castot, head², Jean-Louis Montastruc, professor and head¹

¹ Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Unité de Pharmacoépidémiologie EA 3696, Université de Toulouse, 31000-Toulouse, France, ² Département de la Surveillance du Risque, du Bon Usage et de l’Information sur les Médicaments, Agence Française de Sécurité Sanitaire des Produits de Santé, 93285-Saint-Denis Cedex, France

sommet@cict.fr

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