As is the case for most medical studies, the research concerning the number of deaths caused by adverse drug reactions are often contradictory. Several medical reports published recently have quoted a figure of about 7,000 deaths per year.

This statistic is taken from an Institute of Medicine report in Jan. 2000, which found that from 44,000 to 98,000 deaths occur annually from medical errors. Of this total, an estimated 7,000 deaths occur due to ADRs.

However, other studies conducted on hospitalized patient populations have placed much higher estimates on the overall incidence of serious ADRs.

A study published in the April 1998 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, for example, estimated that 6.7% of hospitalized patients have a serious adverse drug reaction with a fatality rate of 0.32%.

That would translate into more than 2,216,000 serious ADRs in hospitalized patients, causing over 106,000 deaths annually, making it the 4th leading cause of death—ahead of pulmonary disease, diabetes, AIDS, pneumonia, accidents, and automobile deaths.

Another report [Am J Med, 2000;109(2):87–94] says that these statistics do not include the number of ADRs that occur in ambulatory settings –- or the estimated 350,000 ADRs that occur in U.S. nursing homes each year.

SOURCE: "Preventable Adverse Drug Reactions: