Adverse drug reactions as a potential contributing factor for inadequate anti-infective drug therapy

摘要

Anti-infective agents are one among the drugs most commonly implicated for producing adverse drug reactions (ADRs) [1,3,5]. The incidence of ADRs in patients receiving anti-infective agents was estimated to be 8.2% in a 9-month intensive monitoring study conducted in hospitalized patients by Gholami et al. [2]. Management of adverse reactions to drugs including anti-infective agents often include withdrawal of suspected drug or dose alteration [6]. These management strategies may lead to inadequate drug therapy. It is also known that inadequate drug therapy can contribute to anti-infective resistance [4]. We aimed at evaluating the contribution of ADRs to inadequate anti-infective therapy based on the ADR reports received in a tertiary care hospital. ADR reports received in the ADR reporting unit of a tertiary care hospital in South India (Kasturba Hospital, Manipal) over a period of one year (March 2005-February 2006), with anti-infective agents for systemic use as the suspected drug was selected for evaluation. Drugs involved in the ADRs were classified into various drug classes according to anatomical therapeutic chemical (ATC) classification based on WHO-ATC Index 2006 [7]. Further, details on withdrawal or dose reduction of the suspected agents and subsequent management were assessed for their possible contribution to an inadequate anti-infective drug therapy.