Adverse Drug Reactions

Basically, adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are serious unwanted side-effects from one's use of a prescription drug at the prescribed dose. An ADR may be minor, such as an episode of nausea, or life-threatening, such as anaphylactic shock.

Drug-drug interactions refer to interactions between two or more drugs (prescription or nonprescription) taken in combination. The broader term, drug interaction, often is substituted. Many different drug interactions cause unintended and undesirable responses or side-effects. Drug interactions are considered to be a type of adverse drug reaction.

Published studies estimate that 10% to 30% of patients in U.S. hospitals annually experience an adverse drug reaction during their hospital stay. Additionally, 2% to 5% of all hospitalizations result from an ADR.

An incident of this type could be a "serious reaction" for the purpose of reporting a suspected drug injury to the FDA MedWatch program.

If you are interested in getting the facts of your possible drug injury claim reviewed by our law firm, click here for a free legal case evaluation.