The use of sedatives and hypnotics, antidepressants, and benzodiazepines demonstrated a significant association with falls in elderly individuals.

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ObjectiveAnaemia affects the majority of children in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Previous studies of risk factors for anaemia have been limited by sample size, geography and the association of many risk factors with poverty. In order to measure the relative impact of individual, maternal and household risk factors for anaemia in young children, we analysed data from all SSA countries that performed haemoglobin (Hb) testing in the Demographic and Health Surveys.Design and settingThis cross-sectional study pooled household-level data from the most recent Demographic and Health Surveys conducted in 27 SSA between 2008 and 2014.Participants96 804 children age 6–59 months.ResultsThe prevalence of childhood anaemia (defined as Hb <11 g/dL) across the region was 59.9%, ranging from 23.7% in Rwanda to 87.9% in Burkina Faso. In multivariable regression models, older age, female sex, greater wealth, fewer household members, greater height-for-age, older maternal age, higher maternal body mass index, current maternal pregnancy and higher maternal Hb, and absence of recent fever were associated with higher Hb in tested children. Demographic, socioeconomic factors, family structure, water/sanitation, growth, maternal health and recent illnesses were significantly associated with the presence of childhood anaemia. These risk factor groups explain a significant fraction of anaemia (ranging from 1.0% to 16.7%) at the population level.ConclusionsThe findings from our analysis of risk factors for anaemia in SSA underscore the importance of family and socioeconomic context in childhood anaemia. These data highlight the need for integrated programmes that address the multifactorial nature of childhood anaemia.

Objectives: Adverse drug events (ADEs) are unintended and harmful consequences of medication use. They are associated with high health resource use and cost. Yet, high levels of inaccuracy exist in their identification in clinical practice, with over one-third remaining unidentified in the emergency department (ED). The study objective was to derive clinical decision rules (CDRs) that are sensitive for the detection of ADEs, allowing their systematic identification early in a patient's hospital course.Methods: This was a prospective observational cohort study carried out in two Canadian tertiary care hospitals. Participants were adults presenting to the ED having ingested at least one prescription or overthe-counter medication within 2 weeks. Nurses and physicians evaluated patients for standardized clinical findings. A second evaluator performed interobserver assessments of predictor variables in a subset of patients. Pharmacists, who were blinded to the predictor variables, evaluated all patients for ADEs. An independent committee reviewed and adjudicated cases where the ADE assessment was uncertain or the pharmacist's diagnosis differed from the physician's working diagnosis. The primary outcome was an ADE that required a change in medical therapy, diagnostic testing, consultation, or hospital admission. CDRs were derived using kappa coefficients, chi-square statistics, and recursive partitioning.Results: Among 1,591 patients, 131 (8.2%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 7.0% to 9.7%) were diagnosed with the primary outcome. The following variables were associated with ADEs and were used to derive two CDRs: 1) presence of comorbid conditions, 2) antibiotic use within 7 days, 3) medication changes within 28 days, 4) age ‡80 years, 5) arrival by ambulance, 6) triage acuity, 7) recent hospital admission, 8) renal failure, and 9) use of three or more prescription medications. The more sensitive rule had a sensitivity of 96.7% (95% CI = 91.8% to 98.6%) and required 40.8% (95% CI = 37.7% to 42.9%) of patients to have medication review. The more specific rule had a sensitivity 90.8% (95% CI = 81.4% to 95.7%) and required 28.3% of patients to proceed to medication review. Conclusions:The authors derived CDRs that identified patients with ADEs with high sensitivity. These rules may improve the identification of ADEs early in a patient's hospital course while limiting the number of patients requiring a detailed medication review.