European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

ADVERSE DRUG REACTIONS DUE TO CANCER CHEMOTHERAPY IN A TERTIARY CARE TEACHING HOSPITAL.

*Dr. P. Hema MBBS MD and Dr. N. Shanthi MBBS MD

ABSTRACT

Introduction: An adverse drug reaction (ADR) is defined by WHO as ‘Any response to a drug which is noxious, unintended and occurs at doses used in man for prophylaxis, diagnosis or therapy’. ADRs linked with cancer chemotherapy deserve analysis on their severity and preventability. The result would generate awareness among health care professionals and avoid their recurrence. We have done a prospective observational study intended to analyze the pattern of ADRs to Anticancer agents in cancer patients of a tertiary care hospital. Methods: A total of 474 cancer patients were monitored for suspected ADRs during the course of chemotherapy from June 2015 to July 2017. Clinical events were recorded and analyzed with regard to the demographics and drug details of the patients. Results: The ADRs commonly encountered included nausea, vomiting, constipation, alopecia and hematological changes. Cisplatin, cyclophosphamide, paclitaxel and 5-FU were used for the treatment of commonly found cancers in this region affecting the lungs, esophagus and lymphomas. Naranjo’s causality assessment showed 1.7% possible (score 4) and 98.3% probable (score 5–6). A total of 85.3% of ADRs were preventable reactions such as nausea, vomiting and constipation. Conclusions: This study stresses the role of active monitoring as an important tool for early detection, assessment and timely management of ADRs in patients undergoing cancer chemotherapy. The observed ADRs were preventable although ADRs such as hiccough, anemia, neutropenia and alopecia were not preventable.

Keywords: adverse drug reactions, cancer chemotherapy, premedications.