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Reports of injuries and deaths related to pharmaceutical drugs more than doubled between 1998 and 2005 in the U.S., with painkillers and immune-system boosters accounting for most.

"This study shows that substantially growing numbers of patients are experiencing serious injuries from drug therapy," they wrote in a report in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

"This growing toll of serious injury shows that the existing system is not adequately protecting patients and underscores the importance of recent reports urging far-reaching legislative, policy and institutional changes," they added.

Thomas Moore and colleagues at the Institute for Safe Medication Practices in Pennsylvania said the findings came from a look at serious adverse drug events as reported to the FDA from 1998 through 2005.

The FDA gets information about such adverse drug events directly or from drug makers, who are required to report them.

The new Pennsylvania study found 467,809 such occurrences during the period studied, with annual reports growing from 34,966 at the start to 89,842 at the end. The number of deaths due to medications jumped from 5,519 to 15,107 during the study period.

Researchers estimate that a growing population and more intensive use of drugs might account for a quarter of the increase. An additional 15 percent of the increase appears to involve newer biotech drugs.

"Among the most frequently reported drugs associated with fatal events, we observed a disproportionate contribution of pain medications and drugs that modify the immune system," they added.

Reference:

"U.S. study finds jump in drug injury reports," Reuters, Michael Conlon, September 2007.