Association of Adverse Events With Antibiotic Use in Hospitalized Patients

Estimates of the incidence of overall antibiotic-associated adverse drug events (ADEs) in hospitalized patients are generally unavailable.

To describe the incidence of antibiotic-associated ADEs for adult inpatients receiving systemic antibiotic therapy. Design, Setting, and Participants: Retrospective cohort of adult inpatients admitted to general medicine wards at an academic medical center. Exposures: At least 24 hours of any parenteral or oral antibiotic therapy. Main Outcomes and Measures: Medical records of 1488 patients were examined for 30 days after antibiotic initiation for the development of the following antibiotic-associated ADEs: gastrointestinal, dermatologic, musculoskeletal, hematologic, hepatobiliary, renal, cardiac, and neurologic; and 90 days for the development of Clostridium difficile infection or incident multidrug-resistant organism infection, based on adjudication by 2 infectious diseases trained clinicians.