Morphologic changes in adverse drug reactions in infants and children.

The morphologic findings in 102 validated cases of adverse drug reactions classified in the "causative" and "probable" category are reported. All of them are well documented cases of drug associated reactions. The patterns of tissue reactions in these cases are divided into the following categories: inflammation, degeneration and infiltration, hypoplasia and aplasia, hyperplasia, necrosis, circulatory disturbances and vascular abnormalities, and teratogenesis. Degeneration and infiltration constitute the most common tissue reaction pattern present in these cases. The liver is the organ most frequently affected. Anti-infective drugs were associated with the highest number of adverse drug reactions, followed by antineoplastic drugs.