Characterization of Serious Adverse Drug Reactions in Hospital to Determine Potential Implications of Mandatory Reporting.

Background: The will eventually require institutions to report all serious adverse drug reactions (ADRs), although the proposed regulations do not yet define what will need to be reported and by whom. Knowledge about the occurrence of serious ADRs in the hospital setting is needed to optimize the effectiveness of reporting and to determine the potential implications of mandatory reporting.

Objectives: To quantify and characterize suspected serious ADRs in patients admitted to a general medicine service, to assess the likelihood of causality, and to determine inter-rater agreement for identification of ADRs and assessment of their likelihood.

Pharmacy Student Facilitation of Reporting of Adverse Drug Reactions in a Hospital.

Background: Health Canada relies on health professionals to voluntarily report adverse reactions to the Canada Vigilance Program. Current rates of reporting adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are inadequate to detect important safety issues.

Objective: To assess the impact of pharmacy student facilitation of ADR reporting by pharmacists at a tertiary care teaching hospital in Canada.

Appropriateness of Dabigatran and Rivaroxaban Prescribing for Hospital Inpatients.

Background: Recent approval of the new oral anticoagulants dabigatran and rivaroxaban has led to rapid changes in anticoagulant prescribing practices. Postmarketing reports have highlighted safety concerns with these agents, and their use outside of evidence-based recommendations was noted at the authors' centre.

Objectives: To determine the incidence of and risk factors associated with inappropriate prescribing of dabigatran and rivaroxaban.

Effectiveness of Unfractionated Heparin in Normal Saline versus Dextrose for Achieving and Maintaining Therapeutic Anti-Factor Xa Levels in Patients with Non-ST-Elevation Acute Coronary Syndrome.

Background: Unfractionated heparin (UFH) administered by IV infusion is effective in preventing myocardial infarction and death after non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome. At the authors' centre, preparations of UFH in 0.9% sodium chloride (normal saline; UFH-NS) were used during a shortage of commercially available UFH in dextrose 5% in water (UFH-D5W), the usual preparation.