Drug Reactions a Major Cause of Death
Adverse drug reactions may cause the deaths of over 100,000 US hospital patients each year, making them a leading cause of death nationwide1, according to a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The incidence of serious and fatal adverse drug reactions in US hospitals was found to be extremely high, say researchers at the University of Toronto in Ontario, Canada.
They carried on an analysis of 39 ADR-related studies2 at US hospitals over the past 30 years and defined an ADR as any harmful, unintended, and undesired effect of a drug which occurs at doses used in humans for prevention, diagnosis, or therapy.3
An average 6.7% of all hospitalized patients experience an ADR every year, according to the reasearchers.They estimate that in 1994, overall 2，216 000 hospitalized patients had serious ADRs, and 106,000 had fatal ADRs. This means that ADRs may rank as the fourth single largest cause of death in America.4
And these incidence figures are probably conservative, the researchers add, since their ADR definition did not include outcomes linked to problems in drug administration, overdoses, drug abuse, and therapeutic failures5.
The control of ADRs also means spending more money. One US study estimated the overall cost of treating ADRs at up to $4 billion per year.
Dr. David Bates of Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, believes that healthcare workers need to pay more attention to the problem, especially since many ADRs are easily preventable. When a patient develops an allergy or sensitivity, it is often not recorded,Bates notes6, and patients receive drugs to which they have known allergies or sensitivities with disturbing frequency.7 He. believes computerized surveillance systems still works-in-progress at many of the nations hospitals8 should help cut down the frequency of these types of errors.
词汇：
reaction 反应，作用
conservative 保守的，守旧的;稳当的
adverse 不利的，有害的
incidence 发生率;发生
define .解释，给下定义
diagnosis .诊断，诊断结论
sensitivity 过敏;敏感
hospitalize 送进医院治疗
surveillance 监督，检查，监管
注释：
1.making them a leading cause of death nationwide：使它们在全国范围内成为导致死亡最重的原因之一的原因之一
2.ADR-related studies：涉及用药不良反应的研究
3.any harmful, unintended, and undesired effect of a drug for prevention, diagnosis, or therapy：用于人体预防、诊断及治疗目的的药物剂量造成的任何有害、非故意和不良的后果
4.This means that ADRs may rank as the fourth single largest cause of death in America这意味着用药不良反应在美国可列为引起死亡的第四大单项因素。动词短语rank as意为排行为，列为。
5.since their ADR definition did not include outcomes linked to problems in drug administration, overdoses, drug abuse, and therapeutic failures：因为他们对用药不良反应下的定义不包括错误服药、过量用药、滥用药物和治疗失败所造成的后果。
6.When a patient develops an allergy or sensitivity, it is often not recorded,Bates notes...：当一个病人产生了过敏时，往往没有记录下来，贝茨指出实际上，allergy和sensitivity 是药物过敏的不同说法。句中note的意思是记下、写下或指出。
7.and patients receive drugs to which they have known allergies or sensitives with disturbing frequency：这是整个并列句的第二部分。其中，主语为patients，谓语是receive，宾语是drugs，后面有定语从句to which they have known allergies or sensitivities作为它的修饰语，宾语部分的意思是：已知道他们对其有过敏反应的药物：最后是一个借此短语with disturbing frequency作方式状语，字面意思是的是：以使人不安的频率。整句话意为：令人不安的是，病人常常服用那些他们已知道对其有变态反应和过敏反应的药物。
8.still works-in-progress at many of the nations hospitals：在国内的许多医院里还是一个正在逐步建立起来的措施
练习：
1.Researchers at the University of Toronto believe that _________.
A ADRs have caused medical problems, though they seldom lead to death.
B ADRs have very often caused patients to die in Canada.
C ADRs have caused many deaths in America over the past 30 years.
D it is easy to prevent ADRs from happening.
2.The investigators say that _________.
A 67 patients out of 100 in every American hospital die from ADRs each year.
B 67 patients out of 100 in every American hospital experience an ADR each year.
C 6.7% of all hospitalized patients in America experience ADRs each year on average.
D 6.7% of all hospitalized patients in Canada experience ADRs each year on average.
3.An American research estimates that the total sum of money spent in treating ADRs each year is as much as _________.
A $40,000,000,000.
B $4,000,000,000.
C $400,000,000.
D $40,000,000.
4.The Canadian investigators think that the ADR incidence figures from their research _________.
A are surely very exact.
B are probably higher than the real amount.
C are perhaps less than the real amount.
D are probably groundless.
5.According to Dr. David Bates, hospitals in America _________.
A are not paying enough attention to possibilities of ADR happenings.
B have never tried to use computers to prevent ADRs from happening.
C do not use those drugs which will cause side effects to their patients.
D know that many ADRs are easily preventable.
答案与题解：
1.C本文第一段第一句话就提到了ADR可以造成死亡，第二段和第四段中都用fatal一词来说明ADR，并且这种现象在美国还很严重，因此选项A是错误的。选项B也是错误的，因为文中并没有提到在加拿大ADR引起死亡的情况;选项D与文章最后一段的贝茨医生所说的话相符合，但文中并没有提到加拿大的研究者也说过这样的话，所以也不是正确的选项。只有C与题意一致。
2.C文章第四段的第一句话说到调查者的研究结果发现，在美国每年平均有6.7%的住院病人经历过ADR。这是一个平均数，只有C项才符合题意。
3.B这是一道数字辨认题，线索在第六段。一个billion应理解为十亿，故B项是正确答案。
4.C做对这一题的关键在于把握第五段第一句话中的conservative的意义。
5.A文章最后一段3～5行说到医生对防止用药不良反应不够重视：不做过敏记录，也不顾病人的过敏史而随意用药。所以，A项是正确答案。
译文：药物反应导致死亡的主要原因
《美国医学会杂志》曾登载一篇报告说,美国每年有10万多名病人死于药物反应。药物反应在 美国已成为导致死亡最重要的原因之一。
加拿大安大略多伦多大学的研究人员说：在美国,严重的和致命的药物反应发生的频率极高。
研究者对美国医院过去30年有关用药不良反应的39种研究成果进行了分析。将用药不良反 应定义为药物剂量用于人体预防、诊断及治疗目的而造成的任何有害、非故意和不良的效果。
根据这项研究，平均有6. 7%的住院病人每年有一次用药不良反应。研究人员估计,1994年共 有2,216,000名住院病人出现了严重的用药不良反应,106,000名病人出现了致命的不良反应。这 意味着用药不良反应在美国可列为引起死亡的第四大单项因素。
研究者补充说，这些数字也许只是保守的，因为他们对用药不良反应下的定义，不包括错误服 药、过量用药、滥用药物和治疗失败所造成的后果。
控制药物不良反应也意味着花费更多的钱。一项美国研究估计，治疗药物不良反应的总费用， 每年高达40亿美元。
马萨诸塞州波士顿妇科医院的医生David Bates认为许多用药不良反应是很容易预防的，因此 医护人员应该多加注意这个问题。当一个病人产生了变态反应或过敏反应时，医护人员往往没有 记录下来，Bates指出，令人不安的是，病人常常服用那些明知会有变态反应和过敏反应的药物。 Bates相信在国内许多医院里逐步建立起来的电脑化监督系统将有助于减少这种工作上的失误。