Adverse drug events (ADEs) represent challenges affecting Africa’s healthcare systems owing to the increased healthcare expenditure and negative health outcomes of ADEs.
We aimed to systematically review published studies on ADEs and synthesize the existing evidence of ADE prevalence in Africa.
Studies reporting on ADE occurrence in African settings and published from Jan 1, 2000 to Oct 1, 2023 were identified by searching PubMed, EBSCO, Science Direct, and Web of Science. Studies that either articulately investigated ADEs caused by clinical condition (such as HIV patients) or ADEs caused by exposure to specific drug(s) (such as antibiotics) were considered specific and the remaining were general. Grouped ADE prevalence rates were described using median and interquartile range (IQR). PROSPERO registration (CRD42022374095).
We included 78 observational studies from 15 African countries that investigated the prevalence of ADEs leading to hospital admissions (17 studies), developed during hospitalizations (30 studies), and captured in the outpatient departments (38 studies) or communities (4 studies). Twelve studies included multiple settings. The median prevalence of ADE during hospitalization was 7.8% (IQR: 4.2-21.4%) and 74.2% (IQR: 54.1-90.7%) in general and specific patients, respectively. The ADE-related fatality rate was 0.1% and 1.3% in general and specific patients. The overall median prevalence of ADEs leading to hospital admissions was 6.0% (IQR: 1.5-9.0%); in general, patients and the median prevalence of ADEs in the outpatient and community settings were 22.9% (IQR: 14.6-56.1%) and 32.6% (IQR: 26.0-41.3%), respectively, with a median of 43.5% (IQR: 16.3-59.0%) and 12.4% (IQR: 7.1-28.1%) of ADEs being preventable in general and specific patients, respectively.
The prevalence of ADEs was significant in both hospital and community settings in Africa. A high ADE prevalence was observed in specific patients, emphasizing important areas for improvement, particularly in at-risk patient groups (e.g., pediatrics, HIV, and TB patients) in various settings. Due to limited studies conducted in the community setting, future research in this setting is encouraged.

© 2024. The Author(s).