2025 · Dubrall et al. BMC Psychiatry · BioMed Central · added 2026-04-21
Background Psychiatric diseases are often treated with several drugs. In addition, the risk of developing somatic comorbidities which may require drug therapy is higher in patients with than in patien Show more
Background Psychiatric diseases are often treated with several drugs. In addition, the risk of developing somatic comorbidities which may require drug therapy is higher in patients with than in patients without psychiatric diseases. Further on, the risk of drug-drug interactions (DDI) increases with the number of drugs taken. The aim of this study was to analyze whether already known DDI between psychiatric drugs and somatic medications still occur in everyday clinical practice. Methods We analyzed 9,276 spontaneous adverse drug reaction (ADR) reports from Germany contained in the Show less
Few data are available on the clinical impact of drug-drug interactions (DDIs). Most of the studies are limited to the analysis of exposure to potential DDI or the targeted impact of the combination o Show more
Few data are available on the clinical impact of drug-drug interactions (DDIs). Most of the studies are limited to the analysis of exposure to potential DDI or the targeted impact of the combination of a few drugs or therapeutic classes. The analysis of adverse drug reaction (ADR) reports could be a mean to study generally the adverse effects identified due to a DDI. Our objective was to describe the characteristics of ADRs resulting from DDIs reported to the French Pharmacovigilance system and to identify the drugs most often implicated in these ADRs. Considering all ADR reports from January 01, 2012, to December 31, 2016, we identified all cases of ADR resulting from a DDI (DDI-ADRs). We then described these in terms of patients' characteristics, ADR seriousness, drugs involved (two or more per case), and ADR type. Of the 4,027 reports relating to DDI-ADRs, 3,303 were related to serious ADRs. Patients with serious DDI-ADRs had a median age of 76 years (interquartile range: 63-84); 53% were male. Of all serious DDI-ADRs, 11% were life-threatening and 8% fatal. In 36% of cases, the DDI causing the ADR involved at least three drugs. Overall, 8,424 different drugs were mentioned in the 3,303 serious DDI-ADRs considered. Altogether, drugs from the "antithrombotic agents" subgroup were incriminated in 34% of serious DDI-ADRs. Antidepressants were the second most represented therapeutic/pharmacological subgroup (5% of serious DDI-ADRs). Among the 3,843 ADR types reported in the 3,303 serious DDI-ADRs considered, the most frequently represented were hemorrhage (40% clinical hemorrhage; 6% biological hemorrhage), renal failure (8%), pharmacokinetic alteration (5%), and cardiac arrhythmias (4%). Hemorrhagic accidents are still an important part of serious ADRs resulting from DDIs reported in France. The other clinical consequences of DDIs seem less well identified by pharmacovigilance. Moreover, more than one-third of serious DDI-ADRs involved at least three drugs. Show less