Prevalence and Significance of Antibiotic-Associated Adverse Reactions

Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines Pharmacovigilance as the science and activities relating to the detection, assessment, understanding and prevention of adverse drug effects. The aim is to promote the safety and effective use of medicines through an early detection and evaluation of drug safety risks. The pharmacovigilance system is essentially based in spontaneous reports of Adverse Drug Reactions (ADR). ADR can be associated with severe outcomes and significant mortality, besides, most of them are deemed to be preventable events. Globally, antibiotics are among the most widely prescribed medications and their extensive use is linked to antibiotic-associated ADR. This chapter aims to summarize available epidemiological data concerning antibiotic use related ADR and analyze the reports received by the EudraVigilance system regarding the exclusive usage of antibiotics.