Suspected adverse drug reactions in elderly patients reported to the Committee on Safety of Medicines.

1. Spontaneous reports of suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs) reported to the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) have been studied in relation to patient age. 2. The proportion of reports received for the elderly increased between 1965 and 1983. 3. There was a correlation between the use of drugs and the number of ADR reports. Thus age-related prescription figures for two non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAI) and co-trimoxazole matched ADR reports for each drug in each age group. 4. The reported ADR was more likely to be serious or fatal in the elderly. 5. The commonest ADRs reported for the elderly affected the gastrointestinal (GIT) and haemopoietic systems, where more reports were received than would be expected from prescription figures. 6. The drug suspected of causing a GIT reaction was a NSAI in 75% of the reports. 7. Ninety-one per cent of fatal reports of GIT bleeds and perforations associated with NSAI drugs were in patients over 60 years of age.