Children with Complex Chronic Conditions Have Increased Risk for Adverse Drug Event–Related ED Visits

To examine the risk for emergency department (ED) visits for adverse drug events among pediatric patients with and without complex chronic conditions, investigators retrospectively analyzed data from the National Emergency Department Sample. Complex chronic conditions, identified by billing codes, included those that were lifespan shortening, requiring lifelong medical care. Among approximately 144 million U.S. pediatric (up to age 18) ED visits during a 5-year period, about 0.5% were associated with adverse drug events.

The children with complex chronic conditions (2% of all visits) had primarily neuromuscular (56%), cardiovascular (17%), hematologic/immunologic (11%), and metabolic (10%) conditions; 2.2% of these children had adverse drug …