Performance of trigger tools in identifying adverse drug events in emergency department patients: a validation study.
Trigger tools are retrospective surveillance methods that can be used to identify adverse drug events (ADEs), unintended and harmful effects of medications, in medical records. Trigger tools are used in quality improvement, public health surveillance and research activities. The objective of the study was to evaluate the performance of trigger tools in identifying ADEs.



This study was a sub-study of a prospective cohort study which enrolled adults presenting to one tertiary care emergency department. Clinical pharmacists evaluated patients for ADEs at the point-of-care. Twelve months after the prospective study's completion, the patients' medical records were reviewed using eight different trigger tools. ADEs identified using each trigger tool were compared with events identified at the point-of-care. The primary outcome was the sensitivity of each trigger tool for ADEs.



Among 1151 patients, 152 (13.2%, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 11.4, 15.3%) were diagnosed with one or more ADEs at the point-of-care. The sensitivity of the trigger tools for detecting ADEs ranged from 2.6% (95% CI 0.7, 6.6%) to 15.8% (95% CI 10.6, 22.8%). Their specificity varied from 99.3% (95% CI 98.6, 99.7) to 100% (95% CI 99.6, 100%).



The trigger tools examined had poor sensitivity for identifying ADEs in emergency department patients, when applied manually and in retrospect. Reliance on these methods to detect ADEs for quality improvement, surveillance, and research activities is likely to underestimate their occurrence, and may lead to biased estimates.
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V5Z 1M9.
Andrei
A
Karpov
Quality & Patient Safety, Vancouver Coastal Health, Vancouver, British Columbia, V5Z 1M9.
Catherine
C
Parcero
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V5Z 1M9.
Catherine P Y
CP
Mok
Quality & Patient Safety, Vancouver Coastal Health, Vancouver, British Columbia, V5Z 1M9.
Chandima
C
Panditha
Department of Statistics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z4.
Eugenia
E
Yu
Quality & Patient Safety, Vancouver Coastal Health, Vancouver, British Columbia, V5Z 1M9.
Linda
L
Dempster
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V5Z 1M9. chohl@mail.ubc.ca.|Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluation, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, Vancouver, British Columbia, V5Z 1M9, Canada. chohl@mail.ubc.ca.
Corinne M
CM
Hohl
D000465:Algorithms; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008508:Medication Errors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
drug-related side effects and adverse reactions; emergency service; health care; hospital; quality indicators; trigger tools