Adverse Drug Reactions Causing Admission to Medical Wards: A Cross-Sectional Survey at 4 Hospitals in South Africa.

Limited data exist on the burden of serious adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in sub-Saharan Africa, which has high HIV and tuberculosis prevalence. We determined the proportion of adult admissions attributable to ADRs at 4 hospitals in South Africa. We characterized drugs implicated in, risk factors for, and the preventability of ADR-related admissions.

Mortality from adverse drug reactions in adult medical inpatients at four hospitals in South Africa: a cross-sectional survey.

Aims: Fatal adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are important causes of death, but data from resource-limited settings are scarce. We determined the proportion of deaths in South African medical inpatients attributable to ADRs, and their preventability, stratified by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status.

Methods: We reviewed the folders of all patients who died over a 30 day period in the medical wards of four hospitals.

Improving clinical governance of HIV treatment programmes in resource poor settings: the role of digitising clinical notes.

Implementing clinical audit in a resource poor setting is often beset by practical issues. Out-sourcing the burden of data analysis may go a long way to facilitating regular audit in a resource poor setting. We investigated the feasibility of using an inexpensive 12-megapixel point-and-shoot digital camera to collect data from clinical notes in a format capable of being sent via secure electronic file transfer for remote analysis.