Gender differences in adverse drug reactions in dermatological patients in west Sicily: an epidemiological study

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to show that gender also plays an important role in pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and drug toxicity. It is only fair to take into account the so-called “gender-based medicine.” Methods: We again selected admission for cutaneous adverse drug reaction (CADRs), from January 2012 to July 2012, in order to detect and verify, in an analytical way, the substantial gender differences in adverse drug reactions in term incidence, clinical manifestations, severity and drugs involved. Results:In the period January–July 2012, at the Department of Dermatology and Sexually Transmitted Disease of A.O.U.P. “Paolo Giaccone” Palermo, 384 patients were admitted, of which 192 were females (50%) and 192 males (50%). Out of a total of 384 patients, 34 cases of CADRs (8.9%) were identified including 24 females (71%) and 10 males (29%). Conclusions: The female gender is an important predisposing factor for the RAF: a large case series showed that in the RAF female/male ratio is 1.7:1.

Key words::

• adverse drug reactions
• gender-based medicine
• pharmacovigilance