ObjectiveOlder patients are likely to have higher disease complexity and more drug prescriptions of which are associated with a higher incidence of adverse drug reactions (ADR). This study aimed to investigate factors associated with ADR occurrence, prognosis and medical expenses in older inpatients.DesignA nested case–control study.SettingA medical centre located in north Taiwan.Participants539 reported ADR cases from a patient cohort containing 108 548 older inpatients were collected from 2006 to 2012. There were 1854 non-ADR matched controls; a maximum of 1:5 matched by age, sex and principal diagnosis were collected.ExposurePolypharmacy, the number of drugs prescribed, comorbidities and the admission department were factors associated with ADRs, as well as subsequent poor prognosis, length of stay and medical expenses.Primary and secondary outcome measuresADR occurrence and poor prognosis (mortality, discharge against medical advice in critical conditions, or admitted to intensive care unit) were the primary outcomes. Additional medical expenses and the length of hospital stay were the secondary outcomes.ResultsThe admission department, number of comorbidities and number of drug prescriptions before ADRs were associated with ADR occurrence among older inpatients. ADR severity was a significant prognostic factor among ADR cases. The multivariate-adjusted OR of 1.63 (95% CI 1.36 to 1.95) for poor prognosis was found as the number of comorbidities increased. Patients prescribed ≥11 drugs including psychoactive drugs showed 2.45-fold (95% CI 1.40 to 4.28) poorer prognosis than other patients. ADRs caused the addition of US$1803.8, US$360.8 and 5.6 days in total medical expenses, drug expenses and length of stay among affected older inpatients, respectively.ConclusionsThe number of comorbidities and polypharmacy including the use of psychoactive drugs has significant impacts on ADR occurrence and prognosis among older inpatients. The findings provide clues for future prescription modification and patient’s safety improvement in geriatric care.

The study identified risk factors for cutaneous ADRs in terms of both patient characteristics and drug complexity. The present analyses indicate characteristics and mechanisms of cutaneous ADRs among inpatients, which provide clues for future intervention strategies and management issues in healthcare settings.

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BACKGROUND Prevotella oris -induced meningitis and Prevotella oris -induced meningitis concomitant with spinal canal infection are extremely rare. To the best of our knowledge, only 1 case of Prevotella oris -induced central system infection has been reported. This is the second report on meningitis combined with spinal canal infection due to Prevotella oris . CASE SUMMARY We report a case of a 9-year-old boy suffering from meningitis and spinal canal infection. The patient presented to the neurosurgery department with lumbosacral pain for 1 mo and headache and vomiting for 1 d. He had been treated with cephalosporin and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for fever, otalgia and pharyngalgia in a local hospital 2 mo prior to this admission. During hospitalization, magnetic resonance imaging suggested meningitis and L3-S1 lumbosacral dural sac infection. The cerebrospinal fluid and blood cultures were negative, but the cerebrospinal fluid specimen indicated the presence of Prevotella oris by metagenomic next-generation sequencing. Previous cases of Prevotella oris infection were retrieved from PubMed to characterize the clinicopathological features and identify the prognostic factors and related antimicrobial treatment of infection due to Prevotella oris . CONCLUSION This report shed light on the characteristics of Prevotella oris infection and highlighted the role of metagenomic next-generation sequencing in pathogen detection.