Characteristics of the 1545 hospitalisations due to acute medical illnesses
| Characteristics | Total (n=1545) | Hospitalisation due to ADRs* | |
| Yes (n=153) | No (n=1392) | ||
| Age (years), median (IQR) | 79 (66–87) | 83 (71–88) | 78 (66–87) |
| Aged more or 65 years old, n (%) | 1195 (77.4) | 127 (83.0) | 1068 (76.7) |
| Women, n (%) | 740 (47.9) | 82 (53.6) | 734 (47.3) |
| Number of regular medications, median (IQR) | 5 (2−7) | 7 (5−10) | 4 (2−7) |
| Five or more medications, n (%) | 808 (52.3) | 116 (75.8) | 692 (49.7) |
| Primary diagnosis for hospitalisation†, n (%) | |||
| Acute heart failure | 188 (12.2) | 20 (13.1) | 168 (12.1) |
| Pneumonia or pneumonitis | 122 (7.9) | 3 (2.0) | 119 (8.6) |
| Stroke or transient ischaemic attack | 94 (6.1) | 5 (3.3) | 89 (6.4) |
| Acute coronary syndrome | 77 (5.0) | 0 (0.0) | 77 (5.5) |
| Gastrointestinal bleeding | 76 (4.9) | 25 (16.3) | 51 (3.7) |
| Adverse drug events‡ | 67 (4.3) | 65 (42.5) | 2 (0.1) |
| Urinary tract infection | 55 (3.6) | 3 (2.0) | 52 (3.7) |
| In-hospital death, n (%) | 144 (9.3) | 11 (7.2) | 133 (9.6) |
*This is the investigators’ defined ADR.
†This presents the most frequent seven reasons for hospital admission.
‡This was the clinical diagnosis by the principal physicians caring for the patients.
ADRs, adverse drug reactions.