Admissions of elderly to French emergency departments related to adverse drug events

Aims. To investigate the characteristics of adverse drug events (ADE) causing emergency medical admissions in the elderly. Methods. Data were obtained from two prospective cross sectional studies with similar experimental design which were carried out in seven French emergency departments in 1999 and 2003. The proportion of ADE leading to admission, their severity and preventability were assessed in patients aged >= 70 (group A) and compared to those of patients <70 years (group B). Results. Out of a total of 2907 patients, 1158 (39.8%) were >= 70 years of age. Among these, 17.1% were admitted as a result of an ADE vs. 13.2% in group B (p = 0.004). ADE appeared to be more severe in group A than in group B. The part of preventable ADE did not significantly differ between the two groups (48.9% vs. 43.7%, respectively). Conclusion. ADE are a common preventable cause of unplanned admissions, especially in the elderly.