Types of Medications Most Responsible for ADEs in 2011

In 2011, the four types of medications most responsible for adverse drug events (ADEs) in U.S. hospitals were steroids (19.7 per 10,000 discharges), antibiotics (12.9 per 10,000 discharges), opiates and narcotics (11.2 per 10,000 discharges), and anticoagulants (6.7 per 10,000 discharges), states an October 2013 statistical brief from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP). The brief presents 2011 data from 32 of the 46 states that participate in the project. When compared with adults age 18 to 44, infants had a lower rate and older adults had a higher rate of ADEs for all four causes.