Abstract:
Anticancer drugs account to high susceptibility towards adverse drug reactions due
to their narrow therapeutic window and increased toxicity, which makes pharmacovigilance studies
essential for prevention, diagnosis, reporting and management in current clinical practice.
Objective: To assess the chemotherapy-related adverse drug reactions and associated factors among
adult cancer patients who are on treatment at Hon. Dr. Ali Birra cancer treatment center of Hiwot
Fana Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Eastern Ethiopia from July 10 to August 15, 2024.
Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 422 adult cancer patients
who are on treatment at Hiwot Fana Comprehensive Specialized Hospital. All patients on
chemotherapy treatment were included in the study. Data was collected by patient interview and
medical record review. The collected data was cleaned, coded, and entered into using Kobo tool box
and exported to Statistical Package for Social Science version 20.0 for analysis. With Factors
significantly associated were identified using logistic regression model at P-value < 0.05 and
95%CI.From 422 study participants, 251 (59.5%) of them were females. Overall, 48.34% (95%
CI: 43.6 – 53.6) of the included cancer patients developed chemotherapy related adverse drug
reactions. Accordingly, for the Naranjo algorithm, of 2823 ADRs identified, probable account for
2122 (75.17%) followed by definite 508 (18.0%). Based on Hartwig severity assessment scale,
majority ADRs were 2699 (95.87%) moderate. Cancer patients with weight of less than 50kg (AOR
= 3.29, 95% CI: 1.82, 5.94), cancer patients with age range of 31- 40 years (AOR = 0.34% CI: 0.15,
0.74) were more likely associated with adverse drug reactions.
Conclusion: Overall, near to half of the included cancer patients developed ADRs. Having weight
less 50 kg, and cancer patient with age range of 31- 40 years were associated with developing ADR.
Therefore, special attention should be given for cancer patients with those condition so that adverse
drug reactions can be minimized
