Adverse drug reactions result in 250 000 UK admissions a year

doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7550.1109

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Lisa Hitchen

London

More than a quarter of a million patients are admitted to hospital in the United Kingdom because of harmful effects after taking drugs, a BMA report estimates this week.

The report cites research from 2004 suggesting that these cases cost the NHS around £466m (€680m; $870m) a year.

The research, by Munir Pirmohamed and colleagues at the University of Liverpool, was based on an analysis of 18 820 admissions to hospital over six months, which found that 1225 were related to an adverse drug reaction (BMJ 2004;329: 15-9). Aspirin, diuretics, warfarin, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs …