ADVERSE DRUG-REACTIONS (ADRS) IN PATIENTS WITH PREVIOUS HISTORY OF CHRONIC ALCOHOL-CONSUMPTION WITHOUT SIGNS OF CHRONIC HEPATIC DAMAGE - A PROSPECTIVE-STUDY

An intensive and prospective drug surveillance method was used to moni tor 105 hospitalized patients having a previous history of chronic alc ohol consumption without signs of hepatic damage at the Dr. Sotero del Rio hospital, Santiago, Chile. The aim of the work was to characteriz e and study the incidence of ADRs associated with chronic alcohol addi ction in patients hospitalized for different pathological conditions. The incidence of ADRs in this group (41.9%) was slightly higher than t hose from other studies carried out in our country in patients hospita lized in the internal medicine service from other Chilean hospitals. H owever, alcohol addiction was not considered in these studies. Accordi ng to causality, 58.8% of the ADRs were regarded as probable, 6.9% as definite and 34.3% as possible. The severity of ADRs was determined as 18.6% mild, 53.9% moderate and 27.5% as severe events. These ADRs wer e manifested in a dose-related fashion (80.4%). Furosemide, heparin, a nd gentamicin were the drugs mainly associated with ADRs. The most com monly affected system were metabolic (33.3%), renal (19.6%), and gastr ointestinal (19.6%). There was a higher incidence of ADRs in those pat ients with longer stay at the hospital, in patients on multiple-drug t herapy, and in patients with impaired renal function. The frequency of ADRs was not related to age, sex, and pattern of alcohol consumption.