Keith Beard

Adverse Respiratory Events Occurring in the Recovery Room after General Anesthesia

44 cas sur 2293 anesthesies (1,9%) depression respiratoire, cyanose, congestion respiratoire, dyspnee, pneumothorax, atelectasie, laryngospasme

Outpatient drug-induced parenchymal liver disease requiring hospitalization

A case‐history study of drug‐induced liver disorders requiring hospitalization was carried out at the Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, a health maintenance organization with about 280,000 members, for the five‐year period from January 1, 1977 to December 31, 1981. During this time, there were 12 instances of hospitalization for liver disorders judged to be probably (nine cases) or possibly (three cases) attributable to outpatient drug ingestion (other than antitumor agents). The rate was on the order of one per 100,000 person‐years at risk. Drugs implicated as probable causes were ampicillin (two cases), carbamazepine (one case), erythromycin (one case), methyldopa (one case), sulfasalazine (one case), quinidine (one case), trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (one case), and multiple drugs (one case).

Drug-Induced Parenchymal Renal Disease in Outpatients

Hospitalizations for patients with newly diagnosed renal disease were reviewed for the period 1972 to 1983 at Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound to identify those instances where the renal disease might have been caused by a drug(s). After careful review of 496 admissions, only nine instances were found in which a drug etiology of the renal disease could not be safely ruled out on a case history basis. From this study, it is estimated that the frequency of newly diagnosed, outpatient drug‐induced renal disease requiring hospitalization is rare, on the order of one per 300,000 persons per year.

We are all in this together (ISPE Presidential Address, 15th Annual Conference on Pharmacoepidemiology, Boston, 27 August 1999).

(1) The scientific study of drug safety is a relatively new discipline. (2) The public may find it difficult to evaluate the risks and benefits of drug therapy. (3) Pursuit of drug safety must be a multidisciplinary exercise, and the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology (ISPE) provides a valuable focal point. Copyright