ABSTRACT
Each year many patients are hospitalized with adverse drug reactions. Life-threatening reactions include arrhythmias, hepatotoxicity, acute renal failure, and antiretroviral therapy-induced lactic acidosis. In addition, 6% to 7% of hospitalized patients experience a serious adverse drug reaction (1). Approximately 5% of serious inpatient reactions are fatal, making hospital-related adverse drug reactions responsible for approximately 100,000 deaths in the United States annually. The elderly are at especially high risk of reactions (2). Many of these reactions result in intensive care unit (ICU) admission.
