Use of tracking drugs for the search of intra-hospital adverse reactions: a pharmacovigilance study.

OBJECTIVE

To estimate the incidence of potential in-hospital adverse reactions  with the use of alert drugs in a general hospital in southern Brazil. Method: Cross-sectional study, carried out in a hospital in southern Brazil. The  electronic medical records (TASY®) of patients hospitalized between January  and August 2020, who were prescribed one of the drugs earmarked for  tracking adverse drug reactions, were evaluated: the drugs included  flumazenil, fexofenadine hydrochloride, naloxone, promethazine, diphenhydramine and loperamide.

RESULTS

A total of 13,476 medical records were reviewed and 204 (1.5%)  were included in the study in which tracker use was indicated in the management of adverse drug reactions. In this study a total of 18 different signs or symptoms were found in medical records, with  pruritus/hyperemia/urticaria being the most reported symptoms (n = 76).  Among the drug classes that caused most adverse drug reactions, opioids were  the most mentioned (n = 44). It should be noted that in 49 medical  records the information on which drug caused the adverse events was not  reported. Regarding the cause of hospitalization of patients who used  creening drugs, cancer was the most frequent (n = 37).

CONCLUSIONS

This study indicates that the use of trackers can be a tool to  estimate the occurrence of adverse drug reactions and to establish adverse  events related to the use of medications, which should be reported to the  pharmacovigilance service, with a view to patient safety.