Drug Side Effects Injure Thousands of U.S. Kids Each Year

Side effects from medications were responsible for sending more than 500,000 American children to emergency rooms and outpatient clinics each year during the decade that ended in 2005, a new study finds.

Researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston said from 1995 to 2005, there were 585,922 incidents of adverse drug events annually in children up to age 18. More than one in five of those events resulted in a visit to a hospital emergency department, while the rest of the children were treated at clinics, the study found.

The research was based on study of date from the National Center for Health Statistics, according to a HealthDay news report. The study’s findings are published in the October issue of the journal Pediatrics.

In the study, the research team found there were as many 13 outpatient visits related to adverse drug events for every 1,000 children, which led the researchers to conclude that the complications are common in pediatric care.

Youngest Children at Greatest Risks

The risk of medication side effects was greatest among children age four and younger, who accounted for about 43 percent of the total, the study said. Teens between the ages of 15 and 18 represented the next-highest percentage of the total, with 23 percent.

The most common adverse events associated with medication use in children were skin-related disorders, including rashes, which totaled 45 percent of all complications. Gastrointestinal complications accounted for more than 16 percent of the total number of adverse events, the study found.

More than half of the children, 52 percent, suffered symptoms that appeared to be triggered by an allergic reaction to the medication, researchers said.

Penicillin, Other Drugs to Blame

In most cases, adverse drug side effects were associated with the use of penicillin or other antimicrobials. About 40 percent of hospital or clinic visits by children under age four for adverse drug events involved the use of penicillin or similar drugs, the study found.

Neurologic and psychotropic medications accounted for just over six percent of the adverse events, while hormones were responsible for six percent of the side effects, according to the study.

The study’s authors say doctors should be more vigilant to cut down on potential adverse events caused by medications in children. Physicians should be sure to provide suitable information about possible drug interactions to parents of children being treated, they advised.

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