Emergency Department visits for adverse drug reactions (ADR) are costly. Over a 1-year period, the total cost for ED visits due to an antibiotic related adverse drug was >170,000, and nearly 20% of the ADRs were avoidable.(Beck JN et al. Cost and Potential Avoidability of Antibiotic-Associated Adverse Drug Reactions in Children. J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc. 2019 Mar 8.)
The frequency of adverse drug reactions related to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole in children has increased from 2000 to 2009, coincident with the increase in prescribing this drug for skin and soft tissue infections (Goldman JL, Jackson MA, Herigon JC, Hersh AL, Shapiro DJ, Leeder JS. Trends in adverse reactions to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Pediatrics. 2013 Jan;131(1):e103-8.)8
For every 14 children treated with an antibiotic for acute otitis media, one will experience an adverse drug reaction (e.g., vomiting, diarrhea, rash). (Venenkamp RP et al. Antibiotics for acute otitis media in children. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015 Jun23;(6):CD000219.)
