Drug surveillance programme in psychiatry - adverse durg reactions.

In a clinically monitored surveillance of adverse drug reactions in a sample of 186 indoor patients in a general hospital over an average hospital stay of about two weeks, the following points were noteworthy. 32.8% of the patients reported side-effects and of these 79.3% were of mild to moderate intensity.Side-effects could be easily managed by specific antidotes and reassurance and permitted continuation of the same medication.There was no association between side-effects and socio-demography or clinical characteristics of the patient. Side-effects fitted in with the pharmacological profiles of the drugs used. In only 7.3% of cases was major treatment change made after the occurrence of the side effect. Improvement was independent of side-effects and no unusual or toxic reactions were seen.