Objective Ð To examine drug-related deaths due to adverse drug reactions between 1984 and 1994. Data source Ð Voluntary reports of deaths due to adverse events as reported to the Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring Program, Drugs Directorate, Health Protection Branch, Health Canada.
Methods Ð Drugs were classi®ed according to the Anatomical, Therapeutic, Chemical (ATC) coding system. Descriptive statistics were utilized.
Results Ð One thousand four hundred and seventeen drug-related deaths were reported (700 male, 685 female, 32 unknown). The mean +SD age of patients was 54X6 + 21X7 years (range 1 month± 97 years). In total, 2131 medications were implicated as suspect drugs (1X5 + 1X0, range 1±7). The most commonly reported categories of suspect drugs were the nervous system agents (50.6%), followed by cardiovascular system agents (9.0%), general antiinfectives for systemic use (8.8%) and musculoskeletal system agents (8.3%). One thousand and eighty-six deaths were classi®ed as non-suicides. For nonsuicide deaths, the most commonly reported suspect drugs were classi®ed as nervous system agents (37.9%), followed by general antiinfectives for systemic use (12.3%), musculoskeletal system (11.5%) and cardiovascular system agents (10.2%). Three hundred and thirty-one (23.3%) reports were identi®ed as suicides. For suicides, the most commonly reported suspect drugs were the nervous system agents (81.1%), followed by the respiratory system agents (8.5%) and the cardiovascular system agents (6.0%).
Conclusion Ð Nervous system agents, musculoskeletal medications and general antiinfectives for systemic use ®gured prominently in deaths reported to HPB between 1984 and 1994.