XXXX leading to urgent hospital admission in an elderly population: prevalence and main features.

@entity1 @entity137 @entity510 @entity2067 @entity810 @entity3105 @entity360
PURPOSE: To assess the prevalence of urgent hospitalization due to adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in @entity1 aged >= 65  years, to compare the in-hospital mortality rates between @entity1 admitted for ADRs and those admitted for other causes, and to describe the ADRs, the used and suspected drugs, and the @entity137 associations. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted by using the institutional database of the Pharmacovigilance Programme of Bellvitge University Hospital, a 750-bed tertiary care hospital, with information corresponding to a 7-year period. @entity3105 -related admissions of @entity1 aged >= 65  years prospectively identified through a systematic daily review of all admission diagnosis were reviewed. RESULTS: ADRs were suspected to be the main reason for urgent admission in 1976 out of 60,263 @entity1 aged >= 65  years (prevalence of @entity3105 -related hospitalization 3.3  % [95  % CI 3.1-3.4  %]). The crude in-hospital mortality rate was 10.2  % in @entity1 with @entity3105 -related admission and 9  % in @entity1 admitted for other causes (p   =   0.077). Most @entity1 (86  %) were exposed to polypharmacy, and a drug-drug interaction was suspected in 49  % of cases. The most frequent @entity137 associations were @entity810 related to renin-angiotensin system inhibitors, @entity360 caused by antithrombotics and/or non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, and @entity510 induced by @entity2067 antagonists. CONCLUSIONS: One out of every 30 urgent admissions of @entity1 aged >= 65  years is @entity3105 -related. These ADRs can be as serious and life-threatening as any other acute pathology that merits urgent hospital admission. Most cases involve @entity1 exposed to polypharmacy and result from well-known reactions of a few commonly used drugs.
