A 10-Year Single-Center Experience of Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring

Background/Aims: Despite proper use of pharmaceuticals, adverse drug reactions (ADRs) can lead to problems related to patient safety. We analyzed the characteristics of ADRs, particularly serious adverse events (SAEs), in a single tertiary medical institution. Methods: Spontaneous ADR report data collected from 2010 to 2019 in Seoul National University Hospital were assessed. Causality was evaluated according to the World Health Organization-Uppsala Monitoring Centre criteria. Age, sex, onset, severity, seriousness, and system organ class (SOC) of ADRs and SAEs were analyzed. Results: During the study period, a total of 49,955 individual case safety reports were assessed as possible, probable, or certain. Although the number of gastrointestinal ADR reports was high (25.9%), severe cases were uncommon (2.6%). By contrast, the number of hematologic disorders was low (6.6%) but 39.2% of them were severe. Among ADRs, 10.2% were assessed as SAEs, the proportion of which was high at extreme ages and in males. Body as a whole-general disorders were the most frequently reported SOC for SAEs, followed by skin and appendage disorders. Antineoplastic agents and antibiotics were the most common causative agents of SAEs and ADRs. Anaphylactic reaction was the most frequent SAE (6.5%). Conclusions: The proportion of SAE differs according to SOC and drug. Attention should be paid to SAEs in children and older adults because the rate of SAEs is significantly higher at extreme ages.