The Four Drugs Which Cause the Most Adverse Events

Adverse drug events (ADEs) cause an estimated 100,000 emergency hospitalizations for seniors each year, yet two thirds involve just a handful of anticoagulants and diabetes medications. A study by researchers from the US CDC, singles out 4 drugs and drug classes: warfarin, oral antiplatelet medications, insulins, and oral hypoglycemic agents. Alone or together, they account for 67% of emergency ADE hospitalizations of adults 65 years and older. Warfarin was implicated in 33% of the incidents. For clinicians, the take-home message of the study is clear: improved management of antithrombotic and antidiabetes drugs can keep thousands of seniors out of the hospital. N Engl J Med. 2011;365:2002-2012