Adverse drug reactions in neonates hospitalized in neonatal intensive care units in Barranquilla, Colombia

Introduction: The appearance of adverse drug reactions in neonates is an important issue due to the lack of drug safety data. Objective: To identify the behavior of adverse drug reactions (ADR) in hospitalized neonates at two intensive care units in Barranquilla, Colombia. Materials and methods: We conducted a cross-sectional prospective descriptive study based on patient-centered intensive pharmacosurveillance. We followed up and monitored the appearance of ADRs for six months. We used Naranjo's algorithm to assess causality, modified Hartwig and Siegel assessment scale to establish severity and Schumock and Thornton criteria to determine ADR preventability. Results: We detected 123 adverse drug reactions in 78 neonates of the 284 monitored. The cumulative incidence of ADRs was 27.4% (78/284); incidence density was 30.60 ADRs per 1,000 patients/day (78/2,549). The most affected organ system was the digestive (33.6%). Systemic anti-infective drugs were the most involved pharmacological group. Most of the ADRs were mild (58.5%), 83% were classified as probable, 16.2% as possible and 0.8% as definite. Conclusions: ADR incidence was high in newborns, and it increased in preterm infants (less than 38 weeks of age).