Patterns of Adverse Drug Reactions in Different Age Groups: Analysis of Spontaneous Reports by Community Pharmacists

PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical manifestations and causative drugs associated with adverse drug reactions (ADRs) spontaneously reported by community pharmacists and to compare the ADRs by age. METHODS: ADRs reported to the Regional Pharmacovigilance Center of the Korean Pharmaceutical Association by community pharmacists from January 2013 to June 2014 were included. Causality was assessed using the WHO-Uppsala Monitoring Centre system. The patient population was classified into three age groups. We analyzed 31,398 (74.9%) ADRs from 9,705 patients, identified as having a causal relationship, from a total pool of 41,930 ADRs from 9,873 patients. Median patient age was 58.0 years; 66.9% were female. RESULTS: Gastrointestinal system (34.4%), nervous system (14.4%), and psychiatric (12.1%) disorders were the most frequent symptoms. Prevalent causative drugs were those for acid-related disorders (11.4%), anti-inflammatory products (10.5%), analgesics (7.2%), and antibacterials (7.1%). Comparisons by age revealed diarrhea and antibacterials to be most commonly associated with ADRs in children (p < 0.001), whereas dizziness was prevalent in the elderly (p < 0.001). Anaphylactic reaction was the most frequent serious event (19.7%), mainly associated with cephalosporins and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Among 612 ADRs caused by nonprescription drugs, the leading symptoms and causative drugs were skin disorders (29.6%) and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (16.2%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: According to the community pharmacist reports, the leading clinical manifestations and causative drugs associated with ADRs in outpatients differed among age groups.