title: [Venus study: a research and education project on nurses and drug surveillance].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Adverse events (AE) are a relevant problem with major health consequences for both patients and health system in different countries.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To estimate and describe the AE and Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) detected by nurses in hospital during an observation time of six months.
  
  
  METHODS
  The observational study involved 174 nurses and 36 head nurses. Nurses recorded for each patient: health condition, unexpected AE, administered drugs, and suspected ADR. Nurses were also requested to send ADR reports to the Italian Pharmacovigilance System.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Data were collected from 4608 patients. Nurses identified AE in 2458 patients and observed 6647 different events, mostly psychiatric (800 cases). Female, elderly, and 0-1 years old patients, number of administered drugs, and poor health conditions were all risk factors for adverse events (p < 0.01). Nurses identified 160 patients with ADRs (3.5% of observed patients).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Nurses have shown a good observational skill for AE, but low ability to detect ADRs probably due to lack of knowledge on drugs and ADR. For this reason a continuing education is essential.
authors.affiliation: Servizio di Farmacologia, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Integrata di Verona.
authors.forename: Sibilla
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Opri
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: D'Incau
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Meglioranzi
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pignata
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brasola
authors.forename: Anita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Conforti
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Leone
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016907:Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting Systems / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004509:Education, Nursing, Continuing; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D024802:Nurse's Role; D055815:Young Adult