Background: Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) pose both financial and health encumbrances for patients. Although prevalence and risk factors associated with ADRs have been published in many studies, most of them lack the statistical evidence for predictors. The aim of this study was to review the published literature to determine the risk factors in the adult and elderly population for ADRs. An electronic search of articles published in English language in databases such as Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, and Google Scholar was conducted in between January 2001 and April 2018. The search terms used were: “ADRs,” “drug-related problems,” “risk factors,” “general adult population,” “elderly patients,” and “hospital admission.” For inclusion in the review, studies had to include an explicit definition of what was considered an ADR and/or an explicit assessment of causality, as well as a clear description of the method used for ADR identification. Polypharmacy was the major risk factor of ADR followed by comorbidities and length of hospital stay.

Background: Farmers are extensively using pesticides for pest control in agriculture. Their precarious handling practices may lead to higher exposure resulting in adverse health effects. Aim: Current study was aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding pesticide usage and its toxic effects by farmers. Settings and Design: Cross sectional, Study Setting: Rural village in south Karnataka. Materials and Methods: Sample size: 171 farmers, Data collection: face to face standardized validated questionnaire. Statistical Analysis: Chi-square test. Results: A total of 118 males and 53 females participated in this study with median age of 40 years. About 61% of the farmers knew the harmful effects of pesticides. However, 22% of them were mixing the pesticides using their bare hands and 26% were not wearing any protective clothing during spraying pesticides. Around 67% were carelessly disposing the leftover pesticides in the open fields. Skin problems and neurological system disturbances were the most common pesticide related health symptoms. Equipment washing practices ( P < 0.05) and protective clothing ( P < 0.03) were significant predictors of health related problems. Significant associations were found between the occurrence of headache and equipment washing practices ( P < 0.03), storage of pesticide remains ( P < 0.02) and protective clothing ( P < 0.01). Conclusion: These findings showed that knowledge level is adequate among farmers but this did not reflect in their practice. There is a need for continuous pesticide safety education along with training to the farmers regarding use of personal protective devices, personal hygiene and sanitation practices during and after application of pesticides.

Objectives: To study the incidence and to evaluate the risk factors of suspected adverse drug reactions developed in the hospitalized patients of various departments and to assess the causality and severity of adverse drug reactions (ADRs). Methods: It was a retrospective-prospective study conducted in a tertiary care hospital for a period of two years two months, with a specific predefined criterion. A total of 254 subjects with ADRs were identified during the period of study for which 1:1 ratio of subjects with non-ADRs were taken. Subjects of all age groups and of either sex were enrolled. Risk factors included subjects' age group, gender, polypharmacy, comorbidity, intercurrent diseases and concurrent interactive drugs. Statistical analysis used: Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to find the association of risk factors with adverse drug reactions. Results: The incidence of suspected adverse drug reactions in hospitalized patients was13% (254/1952, 95%CI). Polypharmacy was the most significant predictor of adverse drug reactions (OR=55.952; 95%CI). Elderly population with multidrug therapy had developed the higher rate of ADRs. Cephalosporin's 27.6%, fluoroquinolones 15.5%, penicillamines 12.1%, anti-hypertensive 8.7%, NSAIDs 8.3% were more frequently implicated. Risk factors for suspected ADRs were: age (more than 60 years) (OR=1.033: 95% CI), gender [Male (OR=55.952; 95% CI)], comorbidity (OR=1.008; 95% CI), intercurrent diseases (OR=19.27; 95% CI). Conclusion: Polypharmacy, history of ADR, concurrent interactive drugs and inter current disease were the significant risk factors of adverse drug reactions. The elderly population was the vulnerable age group for ADRs. Multidrug therapy and comorbidity resulted in higher risk of ADRs in an older population. The Higher rate of suspected ADRs were probable and very less severe. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as the author is credited and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms. Mudigubba et al.: Evaluation of Predisposing Factors Associated with Suspected Adverse Drug Reactions of Hospitalized PatientsJournal of Young Pharmacists, Vol 10, Issue 2, Apr-Jun, 2018203 were interviewed about the previous medical and medication history, co-morbid conditions, lifestyle and diet which were also updated inpatient case sheet for future reference. Retrospectively case data was collected from the reported documents which were stored in drug information centre and control data from the medical record database of the hospital. The patients who had no ADR were selected as controls. The severity of suspected adverse effects was assessed as mild, moderate and severe by using the specific standard scale called Hart wig and Siegel's scale, and the Naranjo`s algorithm was used to assess the causal relationship between the suspected drug and ADR. For evalu...

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