New research: 700 people die every year in Switzerland from side effects

class=”sc-29f61514-0 icZBHN”>

In Switzerland, 32,000 people were hospitalized annually between 2012 and 2019 due to side effects of medications. This is evident for the first time from a joint study by the universities of Lucerne and Zurich, the University Hospital of Zurich and Swissmedic.

Despite the legal reporting obligation, only about five percent of these were reported to the medicines authority Swissmedic, the University of Lucerne (Unilu) announced on Thursday. These reports are of great importance, research director Patrick Beeler emphasizes in the message. Most previously unknown risks would be discovered this way. According to the researcher, they are the most important cornerstone of drug safety. Beeler advocates that the reporting obligation be appropriately addressed in the training of medical professionals.

Side effects are responsible for 2.3 percent of all hospital admissions

This reporting percentage is high in international comparison, says Beeler. Internationally, the reporting rate is believed to be between 0.6 and 4.7 percent. According to the study, drug side effects accounted for 2.3 percent of all hospital admissions in the eight-year study period. Nearly half of the people admitted for side effects (46.9 percent) were over 65 years old.

The most common adverse reactions identified were those related to the digestive system (such as gastroenteritis), the genitourinary system (such as acute renal failure) or the mental/behavioral status (such as opiate addiction). The study also shows that 2.2 percent of people admitted to hospital due to side effects, about 700 people per year, died in hospital. About 12 percent of these deaths were reported to Swissmedic.

(SDA)

Source:Blick