Exploring and Understanding of Adverse Drug Reactions

The reactions which are unpleasant and appreciably harmful considered as an injury caused form of toxicity resulting from an intervention related to the use of a medicinal products are called as Adverse Drug Reactions. Injury occurring at the time a drug is used is called as Adverse Drug Event, whether it is identified as a cause of the injury.

Classification of adverse drug reaction:

1.   Type A reactions (augmented reactions) referred as predictable based on the pharmacology and drug-dependent.

2.      Type B reactions (bizarre reactions) referred as an idiosyncratic and not predictable based on the Pharmacology.

 

Symptoms and Signs

Allergic ADRs symptoms include itching, rash, fixed-drug eruption, upper or lower airway edema with difficulty breathing, and hypotension. They occur soon after a drug is taken but generally do not occur after the first dose; typically, they occur when the drug is given after an initial exposure

Idiosyncratic ADRs are usually unpredictable they can produce almost any signs and symptoms.

Types of Adverse Drug Reactions

·         Dose-related adverse drug reactions: this type of adverse drug reaction is usually unavoidable but predictable. It may occur because of the Drug Interaction or by the Overdose reaction. It also depends on the metabolic rate of the drug. Dose-related reactions are usually common but not serious.

·         Allergic drug reactions: are not dose-related but require prior exposure to a drug.  when the body's immune system develops an inappropriate reaction to a drug these types of reactions are caused. After a person is sensitized, later exposures to the drug produces one of several different types of allergic reaction.

·         Idiosyncratic adverse drug reactions lead to jaundice, anemia, rashes decrease in the white blood cell count, kidney damage, and nerve injury. This type of adverse drug reaction is largely unpredictable.

Prevention and Treatment

Familiarity with the drug and its potential reactions can help in preventing the Adverse drug reaction. Computer-based analysis should be incorporated to check the potential drug interactions. Analysis of the drugs should be carried out whenever the drug dosage is changed or added.

ADRs can be treated by considering three below points

·         Modification of dosage

·         Discontinuation of drug if necessary

·         Switching to a different drug