Methods for causality assessment of adverse drug reactions: a systematic review

Confidence and accuracy in identification of adverse drug reactions reported by outpatients

Background Patient reporting of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) could supplement the existing reporting system and contribute to early detection of ADRs. The confidence in ADR identification and their attribution of ADRs were limited to outpatients. Objective To determine the type and frequency of ADRs reported by outpatients, to evaluate confidence and accuracy in ADR identification as well as contributing factors. Setting University hospital in northeastern Thailand Method Cross-sectional study using questionnaires distributed to 500 outpatients who claimed to have experienced an ADR. Confidence in identifying ADRs was measured by visual analogue score (VAS), while accuracy of reported ADRs was determined using Naranjo algorithm and WHO criteria. Main outcome measure Number and type of ADRs, confidence rating and accuracy category. Results In total, 390 outpatients completed the questionnaire (response rate = 78.0%). Rash (19.0%), nausea/vomiting (7.4%), and dizziness (5.8%) were the top three reported ADRs. Sixty-one percent of respondents rated their level of confidence in identifying ADRs as high (VAS 9.2 ± 0.95), which was associated with having underlying diseases (OR 1.93), low number of reported symptoms (OR 0.38) and severe ADRs (OR 1.33). Causality assessment was classified as true ADRs in 90.0% and 88.9% of cases, using Naranjo algorithm and WHO criteria, respectively. Respondents with low number of reported symptoms (OR 0.27) and high level of confidence had greater accuracy in ADR identification (OR 1.11). Conclusion The outpatients reported a high proportion of potential ADRs with high confidence and accuracy. Patient reporting of ADRs has potential to support the pharmacovigilance system.

Incidence, causes, and consequences of preventable adverse drug reactions occurring in inpatients: A systematic review of systematic reviews

BACKGROUND

Preventable adverse drug reactions (PADRs) in inpatients are associated with harm, including increased length of stay and potential loss of life, and result in elevated costs of care. We conducted an overview of reviews (i.e., a systematic review of systematic reviews) to determine the incidence of PADRs experienced by inpatients. Secondary review objectives were related to assessment of the effects of patient age, setting, and clinical specialty on PADR incidence.

METHODS

The protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42016043220). We performed a search of Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Library, limiting languages of publication to English and French. We included published systematic reviews that reported quantitative data on the incidence of PADRs in patients receiving acute or ambulatory care in a hospital setting. The full texts of all primary studies for which PADR data were reported in the included reviews were obtained and data relevant to review objectives were extracted. Quality of the included reviews was assessed using the AMSTAR-2 tool. Both narrative summaries of findings and meta-analyses of primary study data were undertaken.

RESULTS

Thirteen systematic reviews encompassing 37 unique primary studies were included. Across primary studies, the PADR incidence was highly varied, ranging from 0.006 to 13.3 PADRs per 100 patients, with a pooled incidence estimate of 0.59 PADRs per 100 patients. Substantial heterogeneity was present across both reviews and primary studies with respect to review/study objectives, patient age, hospital setting, medical discipline, definitions and assessment tools used, event detection methods, endpoints of interest, and units of measure. Thirteen primary studies used prospective event detection methods and had a pooled PADR incidence of 3.13 (2.87-3.38) PADRs per 100 patients; however, extreme statistical heterogeneity (I2 = 97%) indicated this finding should be considered with caution. Subgroup meta-analyses demonstrated that PADR incidence varied significantly with event detection method (prospective > retrospective > voluntary reporting methods), hospital setting (ICU > wards), and medical discipline (medical > surgical). High statistical heterogeneity (I2 > 80%) was present across all analyses, indicating results should be interpreted with caution. Effects of patient age could not be assessed due to poor reporting of age groups used in primary studies.

DISCUSSION

The method of event detection appeared to significantly influence PADR incidence, with prospective methods having the highest reported PADR rate. This finding is in agreement with the background literature. High methodological and statistical heterogeneity across primary studies evaluating adverse drug events reduces the validity of the overall PADR incidence derived from the meta-analyses of the pooled data. Data pooled from studies using only prospective methods of event detection should provide an overall estimate closest to the true PADR incidence; however, our estimate should be considered with caution due to the statistical heterogeneity found in this group of studies. Future studies should employ prospective methods of detection. This review demonstrates that the true overall incidence of PADRs is likely much greater than the overall pooled incidence estimate of 0.59 PADRs per 100 patients obtained when event detection method was not taken into consideration.

A tailor-made approach for causality assessment for ADR reports on drugs and vaccines

PURPOSE

To estimate causation of adverse drug reaction (ADR) reports, causality methods were developed from a theoretical perspective. In daily practice, not all information is relevant or available, decreasing the applicability. We developed a new causality documentation tool (CausDoc) where an algorithm is combined with expert judgement. The aim of this study is to test the validity and reliability of CausDoc for ADR reports on drugs and vaccines.

METHODS

CausDoc provides 9 structured relevant questions. If information is available, an answer will be chosen. If not, the question is excluded. Causality outcome is based on the sum score of all answers divided by the included questions: ≤30%: unlikely, 31% to 70%: possible, 71% to 90%: probable, and >90%: certain. Other relevant information is taken into account by expert judgement in the final step by adjusting the outcome to a limited extent. After testing face validity on 12 ADR reports, sensitivity and specificity were tested on 40 ADR reports, compared with the Naranjo algorithm and WHO AEFI criteria, using the expert panel's judgements as a standard. Inter-rater reliability was tested using weighted Cohen kappa coefficient.

RESULTS

Average sensitivity and specificity with CausDoc were 47% and 83% for drugs (29% and 78% with Naranjo) and 72% and 89% for vaccines (65% and 87% with WHO AEFI criteria). Reliability between the 2 couples of assessors: κ 0.48 and 0.75.

CONCLUSIONS

CausDoc shows a better performance and allows for a better documentation of ADRs in clinical practice. This approach is useful in assessing the causality of adverse drug reactions.

Development of a standardized chart review method to identify drug-related hospital admissions in older people

AIMS

We aimed to develop a standardized chart review method to identify drug-related hospital admissions (DRA) in older people caused by non-preventable adverse drug reactions and preventable medication errors including overuse, underuse and misuse of medications: the DRA adjudication guide.

METHODS

The DRA adjudication guide was developed based on design and test iterations with international and multidisciplinary input in four subsequent steps: literature review; evaluation of content validity using a Delphi consensus technique; a pilot test; and a reliability study.

RESULTS

The DRA adjudication guide provides definitions, examples and step-by-step instructions to measure DRA. A three-step standardized chart review method was elaborated including: (i) data abstraction; (ii) explicit screening with a newly developed trigger tool for DRA in older people; and (iii) consensus adjudication for causality by a pharmacist and a physician using the World Health Organization-Uppsala Monitoring Centre and Hallas criteria. A 15-member international Delphi panel reached consensus agreement on 26 triggers for DRA in older people. The DRA adjudication guide showed good feasibility of use and achieved moderate inter-rater reliability for the evaluation of 16 cases by four European adjudication pairs (71% agreement, κ = 0.41). Disagreements arose mainly for cases with potential underuse.

CONCLUSIONS

The DRA adjudication guide is the first standardized chart review method to identify DRA in older persons. Content validity, feasibility of use and inter-rater reliability were found to be satisfactory. The method can be used as an outcome measure for interventions targeted at improving quality and safety of medication use in older people.

Comparison of different methods for causality assessment of adverse drug reactions

Background The causality assessment of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) remains a challenge, and none of the different available method of causality assessment used for assessing adverse reactions has been universally accepted as the gold standard. Objective To examine the agreement and correlation among three broad approaches for causality assessment of ADRs viz. World Health Organization-Uppsala Monitoring Centre (WHO-UMC) system, Naranjo algorithm, and updated Logistic method. Setting ADR monitoring centre (AMC) of a tertiary care teaching hospital in India. Method A total of 230 cases of ADR from April 2017 to August 2017 were retrospectively analyzed by each of these three methods. The agreement among the different methods was calculated by Cohen's kappa (κ), and Spearman's correlation was used to find the correlation among these methods. Main outcome measures Cohen's kappa value and Spearman's correlation coefficient for comparison among the different methods. Results The Cohen's κ used for analyzing the agreement between WHO-UMC system and Naranjo algorithm was 0.45, between WHO-UMC system and updated Logistic method was 0.405, and between Naranjo algorithm and updated Logistic method was 0.606. The Spearman's correlation coefficient was 0.793 for Naranjo algorithm vs. updated Logistic method, 0.735 for WHO-UMC system vs. Naranjo algorithm, and 0.696 for WHO-UMC system vs. updated Logistic method. Conclusion Causality assessment based on objective measurements (scores and probabilities) like updated Logistic method and Naranjo algorithm are less prone to subjective variations compared to the WHO-UMC system which is based on expert judgement.

Role of personality traits in reporting the development of adverse drug reactions: a prospective cohort study of the Estonian general population

OBJECTIVE

To examine the role of the Five Factor Model (FFM) personality traits in reporting the development of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) when controlling for sociodemographic variables and health status.

DESIGN

Prospective cohort study.

SETTING

The Estonian Biobank of the Estonian Genome Centre, University of Tartu.

PARTICIPANTS

814 women and 543 men (mean age=47.9 years; SD=15.2) who after the initial enrolment in the Estonian Biobank were re-contacted for follow-up purposes about 5.3 years after the enrolment and for whom both self- and informant-reported personality data were available.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE

Participants who did not report having any ADRs at baseline but who reported ADRs at the follow-up about 5.3 years later versus participants who did not report any ADRs at either time point. The reports of developing ADRs were predicted from the FFM personality traits after statistically controlling for sociodemographic variables (age, gender and education), baseline indicators of health status (number of diagnoses and medicines taken, body mass index and blood pressure), and the change in health status between the two measurements.

RESULTS

The results of a hierarchical binary logistic regression analysis showed that participants who reported the development of ADRs between the two measurements had higher levels of conscientiousness, were more likely to be women, were taking more medicines at baseline and had a higher increase in the number of medicines taken during the study period than participants who did not report any ADRs at either time point (all p values <0.05). Higher neuroticism (p=0.067) and a higher number of diagnosed diseases at baseline (p=0.053) also made marginal contributions to predicting the development of ADRs.

CONCLUSIONS

This study shows for the first time that higher levels of conscientiousness and neuroticism are associated with reporting the development of ADRs.

The measurement of drug-induced interferon γ-releasing cells and lymphocyte proliferation in severe cutaneous adverse reactions

BACKGROUND

The lymphocyte transformation test (LTT) is a standard laboratory method to identify culprit drugs in patients with a history of drug-induced non-immediate hypersensitivity and is mainly performed during the recovery phase. The measurement of drug-specific interferon γ (IFN-γ)-releasing cells has been introduced to confirm culprit drugs, even during the acute phase of drug allergy.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to evaluate the capability of the enzyme-linked immunospot assay (ELISpot) to detect drug-specific IFN-γ-releasing cells during the acute phase and the capability of LTT to identify culprit drugs during the recovery phase in patients presenting with severe cutaneous adverse reactions (SCARs).

METHODS

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 23 SCAR patients were collected during the acute and recovery phases and assayed for drug-specific IFN-γ-releasing cells and lymphocyte proliferation, respectively.

RESULTS

Drug-specific IFN-γ-releasing cells were detectable in 73.9% of SCAR subjects (55.6% and 85.7% in patients who were and were not taking systemic steroids, respectively), whereas LTT results were positive in 52.2% of SCAR subjects. The frequencies of drug-specific IFN-γ-releasing cells were significantly higher in patients with positive LTT than in those with negative LTT (260.1 ± 110.0 and 46.6 ± 20.7 cells/10⁶ PBMCs, P = 0.01). A significant correlation between the results of the IFN-γ ELISpot assay and LTT was demonstrated (r = 0.65, P value <0.01).

CONCLUSION

The IFN-γ ELISpot assay could be a useful tool to identify culprit drugs in SCAR patients when culprit drug identification is urgently needed during the acute phase of drug allergy.

Preliminary Results of a Novel Algorithmic Method Aiming to Support Initial Causality Assessment of Routine Pharmacovigilance Case Reports for Medication-Induced Liver Injury: The PV-RUCAM

INTRODUCTION

Data incompleteness in pharmacovigilance (PV) health records limits the use of current causality assessment methods for drug-induced liver injury (DILI). In addition to the inherent complexity of this adverse event, identifying cases of high causal probability is difficult.

OBJECTIVE

The aim was to evaluate the performance of an improved, algorithmic and standardised method called the Pharmacovigilance-Roussel Uclaf Causality Assessment Method (PV-RUCAM), to support assessment of suspected DILI. Performance was compared in different settings with regard to applicability and differentiation capacity.

METHODS

A PV-RUCAM score was developed based on the seven sections contained in the original RUCAM. The score provides cut-off values for or against DILI causality, and was applied on two datasets of bona fide individual case safety reports (ICSRs) extracted randomly from clinical trial reports and a third dataset of electronic health records from a global PV database. The performance of PV-RUCAM adjudication was compared against two standards: a validated causality assessment method (original RUCAM) and global introspection.

RESULTS

The findings showed moderate agreement against standards. The overall error margin of no false negatives was satisfactory, with 100% sensitivity, 91% specificity, a 25% positive predictive value and a 100% negative predictive value. The Spearman's rank correlation coefficient illustrated a statistically significant monotonic association between expert adjudication and PV-RUCAM outputs (R = 0.93). Finally, there was high inter-rater agreement (K _w = 0.79) between two PV-RUCAM assessors.

CONCLUSION

Within the PV setting of a pharmaceutical company, the PV-RUCAM has the potential to facilitate and improve the assessment done by non-expert PV professionals compared with other methods when incomplete reports must be evaluated for suspected DILI. Prospective validation of the algorithmic tool is necessary prior to implementation for routine use.

Pediatric acute kidney injury induced by concomitant vancomycin and piperacillin-tazobactam

BACKGROUND

Vancomycin is very commonly used in combination with piperacillin-tazobactam (PTZ) as the initial empiric treatment for moderate-severe infection, whenever coverage for both methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa is required. The combination of vancomycin and PTZ in adults has recently been reported to significantly increase the risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) relative to vancomycin monotherapy; such reports in pediatrics, however, are sparse.

METHODS

A retrospective chart review was conducted of pediatric patients, aged 0-14 years, who were admitted to the general wards or intensive care unit and developed AKI after receiving vancomycin and PTZ concomitantly for >48 h. AKI is defined as a decrease in estimated glomerular filtration rate ≥50% from baseline. Cases were identified by reviewing the Adverse Drug Reaction program database at King Saud University Medical City in Saudi Arabia from January 2015 to June 2016.

RESULTS

Eight children admitted to the present hospital and who received concomitant vancomycin and PTZ treatment for pneumonia (n = 7) or febrile neutropenia (n = 1) developed drug-induced nephrotoxicity. Drug Interaction Probability Scale (DIPS) score for causation assessment was 9 in all cases (highly probable).

CONCLUSION

Caution in utilizing the combination of vancomycin and PTZ is warranted in pediatric patients. Health-care professionals should be vigilant if this combination is to be initiated, and ensure close monitoring of renal function. Antibiotic therapy de-escalation should be considered as soon as culture results are available.

Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation

During the past two decades, mindfulness meditation has gone from being a fringe topic of scientific investigation to being an occasional replacement for psychotherapy, tool of corporate well-being, widely implemented educational practice, and "key to building more resilient soldiers." Yet the mindfulness movement and empirical evidence supporting it have not gone without criticism. Misinformation and poor methodology associated with past studies of mindfulness may lead public consumers to be harmed, misled, and disappointed. Addressing such concerns, the present article discusses the difficulties of defining mindfulness, delineates the proper scope of research into mindfulness practices, and explicates crucial methodological issues for interpreting results from investigations of mindfulness. For doing so, the authors draw on their diverse areas of expertise to review the present state of mindfulness research, comprehensively summarizing what we do and do not know, while providing a prescriptive agenda for contemplative science, with a particular focus on assessment, mindfulness training, possible adverse effects, and intersection with brain imaging. Our goals are to inform interested scientists, the news media, and the public, to minimize harm, curb poor research practices, and staunch the flow of misinformation about the benefits, costs, and future prospects of mindfulness meditation.

Mania Associated With Herbal Medicines, Other Than Cannabis: A Systematic Review and Quality Assessment of Case Reports

Background: DSM-5 introduced the diagnostic category of substance/medication-induced bipolar and related disorder. This systematic review examines published reports linking mania with the consumption of herbal medicines (HM), excluding cannabis. Putative pathophysiological mechanisms that may account for the reported HM being associated with mania are discussed. Methods: A systematic search of EMBASE, CINAHL, Health Source, PsychINFO, and PubMed. The quality of case reports meeting inclusion criteria was assessed using the modified Quality Assessment Scale by Agbabiaka. Results: Nineteen single and seven multiple-case reports met inclusion criteria. These yielded a study sample of 35 case reports, 28 of herbal medicine associated mania, 5 of hypomania, and two mixed states, in 17 females [age in years M(SD) = 43.1(13.2)] and 18 males [40.7(18.1)]. A total of 11 herbal medicines were implicated. Case reports by herbal medicine (number of reports) comprised: St John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) (14); Ginseng (Panax ginseng) (5); brindleberry (Garcinia cambogia) (4); ma-huang (Ephedra sinica) (3); "herbal slimming pills" (2); Herbalife products (2); Hydroxycut (1); horny goat weed (Epimedium grandiflorum) (1); "herbal body tonic" (1); celery root (Apium graveolans) (1), and a "herbal mixture" (1). All case reports were associated with use rather than withdrawal of herbal medicines. Only one case report was rated for probability of association using a standardized algorithm. Laboratory assays to confirm composition of the herbal preparation were reported in only one article describing two cases and indicating admixture of a likely causal pharmaceutical in the herbal preparation. Conclusions: Causal attributions are problematic given the limited number of reports, antidepressant co-prescribing in 7 cases, insufficient data regarding pattern and type of herbal medicine use, and lack of a reference frequency for spontaneous mania.The quality assessment scores across the 26 papers (35 case reports) were as follows: low quality (0), lower-medium quality (9), upper-medium quality (10) and high quality (7). Putative pathophysiological mechanisms were postulated for nine of the 11 herbal medicines and centered on HPA-axis activation and increased monoamine activity. Systematic study of the association between herbal medicines and the course of bipolar disorder may contribute to defining targets for pathophysiological research.

Causality or Relatedness Assessment in Adverse Drug Reaction and Its Relevance in Dermatology

Causality assessment essentially means finding a causal association or relationship between a drug and drug reaction. Identifying the culprit drug or drugs can be lifesaving or helpful in preventing the further damage caused by the drug to our body systems. In dermatology practice, when it comes to cutaneous adverse drug reaction, this is much more important and relevant because many aetiologies can produce a similar cutaneous manifestation. There are multiple criteria or algorithms available as of now for establishing a causal relationship in cases of adverse drug reaction (ADR), indicating that none of them is specific or complete. Most of these causality assessment tools (CATs) use four cardinal principles of diagnosis of ADR such as temporal relationship of drug with the drug reaction, biological plausibility of the drug causing a reaction, dechallenge, and rechallenge. The present study reviews some of the established or commonly used CATs and its implications or relevance to dermatology in clinical practice.

Comparing Methods for Estimating Direct Costs of Adverse Drug Events

OBJECTIVES

To estimate how direct health care costs resulting from adverse drug events (ADEs) and cost distribution are affected by methodological decisions regarding identification of ADEs, assigning relevant resource use to ADEs, and estimating costs for the assigned resources.

METHODS

ADEs were identified from medical records and diagnostic codes for a random sample of 4970 Swedish adults during a 3-month study period in 2008 and were assessed for causality. Results were compared for five cost evaluation methods, including different methods for identifying ADEs, assigning resource use to ADEs, and for estimating costs for the assigned resources (resource use method, proportion of registered cost method, unit cost method, diagnostic code method, and main diagnosis method). Different levels of causality for ADEs and ADEs' contribution to health care resource use were considered.

RESULTS

Using the five methods, the maximum estimated overall direct health care costs resulting from ADEs ranged from Sk10,000 (Sk = Swedish krona; ~€1,500 in 2016 values) using the diagnostic code method to more than Sk3,000,000 (~€414,000) using the unit cost method in our study population. The most conservative definitions for ADEs' contribution to health care resource use and the causality of ADEs resulted in average costs per patient ranging from Sk0 using the diagnostic code method to Sk4066 (~€500) using the unit cost method.

CONCLUSIONS

The estimated costs resulting from ADEs varied considerably depending on the methodological choices. The results indicate that costs for ADEs need to be identified through medical record review and by using detailed unit cost data.

Liver injury induced by clomiphene citrate: A case report and literature reviews

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE

Clomiphene citrate is used to cause ovulation in females and to increase semen production in males. Clomiphene citrate is well tolerated in most patients and rarely induces liver injury. We report a case of liver injury which is associated with administration of clomiphene citrate in a male patient.

CASE SUMMARY

A 31-year-old man who was treated by clomiphene citrate for 5 days was transferred to our emergency room with reddish-brown urine and upper abdominal pain. The levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were elevated. Based on the subsequent examination, he was diagnosed with liver injury and cholecystitis. The levels of AST and ALT returned to normal range after discontinuation of clomiphene citrate and symptomatic treatment.

WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSION

The mechanism of liver injury caused by clomiphene citrate is still unclear. Polymorphism of CYP2D6 may have had an effect. Liver function tests should be performed when there is upper abdominal pain after administration of clomiphene citrate.

Adverse Drug Events and Medication Errors in African Hospitals: A Systematic Review

Background

Medication errors and adverse drug events are universal problems contributing to patient harm but the magnitude of these problems in Africa remains unclear.

Objective

The objective of this study was to systematically investigate the literature on the extent of medication errors and adverse drug events, and the factors contributing to medication errors in African hospitals.

Methods

We searched PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science and Global Health databases from inception to 31 August, 2017 and hand searched the reference lists of included studies. Original research studies of any design published in English that investigated adverse drug events and/or medication errors in any patient population in the hospital setting in Africa were included. Descriptive statistics including median and interquartile range were presented.

Results

Fifty-one studies were included; of these, 33 focused on medication errors, 15 on adverse drug events, and three studies focused on medication errors and adverse drug events. These studies were conducted in nine (of the 54) African countries. In any patient population, the median (interquartile range) percentage of patients reported to have experienced any suspected adverse drug event at hospital admission was 8.4% (4.5–20.1%), while adverse drug events causing admission were reported in 2.8% (0.7–6.4%) of patients but it was reported that a median of 43.5% (20.0–47.0%) of the adverse drug events were deemed preventable. Similarly, the median mortality rate attributed to adverse drug events was reported to be 0.1% (interquartile range 0.0–0.3%). The most commonly reported types of medication errors were prescribing errors, occurring in a median of 57.4% (interquartile range 22.8–72.8%) of all prescriptions and a median of 15.5% (interquartile range 7.5–50.6%) of the prescriptions evaluated had dosing problems. Major contributing factors for medication errors reported in these studies were individual practitioner factors (e.g. fatigue and inadequate knowledge/training) and environmental factors, such as workplace distraction and high workload.

Conclusion

Medication errors in the African healthcare setting are relatively common, and the impact of adverse drug events is substantial but many are preventable. This review supports the design and implementation of preventative strategies targeting the most likely contributing factors.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1007/s40801-017-0125-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Use and Safety of Anthroposophic Medicinal Products: An Analysis of 44,662 Patients from the EvaMed Pharmacovigilance Network

Background

There is a need for data on the clinical safety of anthroposophic medicinal products (AMPs).

Objectives

The main objective of this analysis was to determine the frequency of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) to AMPs, relative to the number of AMP prescriptions.

Methods

EvaMed (Evaluation of Anthroposophic Medicine) was a prospective pharmacovigilance study with the patients of 38 physicians in outpatient care in Germany. Diagnoses and prescriptions were extracted from the electronic medical records. All physicians documented ADRs of Grades III–IV and serious ADRs, seven ‘prescriber physicians’ also documented non-serious ADRs of any intensity. Patients were eligible for this analysis if they had one or more AMP prescription in the years 2001–2010, followed by one or more physician visit.

Results

A total of 44,662 patients with 311,731 AMP prescriptions, comprising 1722 different AMPs, were included. One hundred ADRs to AMPs occurred, caused by 83 different AMPs. ADR intensity was mild, moderate, and severe in 50% (n = 50/100), 43%, and 7% of cases, respectively; one ADR was serious. Among patients of prescriber physicians, ADRs of any intensity occurred in 0.071% (n = 67/94,734) of AMP prescriptions and in 0.502% (n = 65/12,956) of patients prescribed AMPs. In subgroup analyses according to age, specific AMPs or AMP groups, dosage forms, and concentrations (altogether 11 groups), the highest ADR frequency was 0.290% of prescriptions (for one specific AMP). Among all patients, serious ADRs occurred in 0.0003% (n = 1/311,731) of prescriptions and 0.0022% (n = 1/44,662) of patients.

Conclusion

In this analysis from a large sample, ADRs to AMP therapy in outpatient care were rare; ADRs of high intensity as well as serious ADRs were very rare.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s40801-017-0118-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Recent advances in the understanding of severe cutaneous adverse reactions

Severe cutaneous adverse reactions (SCARs) encompass a heterogeneous group of delayed hypersensitivity reactions, which are most frequently caused by drugs. Our understanding of several aspects of SCAR syndromes has evolved considerably over the last decade. This review explores evolving knowledge of the immunopathogenic mechanisms, pharmacogenomic associations, in vivo and ex vivo diagnostics for causality assessment, and medication cross-reactivity data related to SCAR syndromes. Given the rarity and severity of these diseases, multidisciplinary collaboration through large international, national and/or multicentre networks to collect prospective data on patients with SCAR syndromes should be prioritized. This will further enhance a systematized framework for translating epidemiological, clinical and immunopathogenetic advances into preventive efforts and improved outcomes for patients.

Drug-induced oral lichenoid reactions: a real clinical entity? A systematic review

PURPOSE

Drug-induced oral lichenoid reactions (DIOLRs) have been extensively reported in the literature, but the validity of the causality relationship between any drug and the oral lichenoid lesions (OLLs) still remains questionable. We sought to determine whether this causality relationship really exists, whether a resolution of the oral lesions upon withdrawal occurs, and what the most common alleged offending medications are.

METHODS

Nine electronic databases from January 1966 to December 2016 were systematically searched to identify all relevant studies selected with specific inclusion criteria (a clinical and histopathological diagnosis of DIOLRs, and clearly statement on the systemic offending medication). Searched terms included but not limited to oral lichen planus/oral lichenoid lesions/oral lichenoid reactions, the adverse effects of medication, and drug-induced. Statistical analyses conducted.

RESULTS

The search retrieved a total of 817 articles, of which only 46 were included into a qualitative synthesis: 40 case reports/series and 6 studies. The causality assessment was done only in 14.8% of cases with the C-D-R protocol. The Naranjo algorithm was not reported in the majority of cases (98.2%). Culprit medication was withdrawn in 68.5% of the cases, obtaining a partial or complete resolution without treatment in 16.7% of cases and with treatment in 27.7% of cases. The median number of culprit medication(s) described was 1 with the most frequent ones being Methyldopa (20.37%), Interferon (IFN)-alpha (11.11%), and Imatinib and Infliximab (9.26%).

CONCLUSION

This systematic review demonstrated that there is no strong scientific evidence to support the causal relationship between any drug and oral lichenoid lesions; therefore, in all reviewed cases, we must question whether the DIOLRs represent a real and separate clinical entity. Further and more thorough investigations using one of the available algorithms for adverse drug reaction are warranted.

Clinical Practice Guideline: Safe Medication Use in the ICU

OBJECTIVE

To provide ICU clinicians with evidence-based guidance on safe medication use practices for the critically ill.

DATA SOURCES

PubMed, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, CINAHL, Scopus, and ISI Web of Science for relevant material to December 2015.

STUDY SELECTION

Based on three key components: 1) environment and patients, 2) the medication use process, and 3) the patient safety surveillance system. The committee collectively developed Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcome questions and quality of evidence statements pertaining to medication errors and adverse drug events addressing the key components. A total of 34 Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcome questions, five quality of evidence statements, and one commentary on disclosure was developed.

DATA EXTRACTION

Subcommittee members were assigned selected Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcome questions or quality of evidence statements. Subcommittee members completed their Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation of the question with his/her quality of evidence assessment and proposed strength of recommendation, then the draft was reviewed by the relevant subcommittee. The subcommittee collectively reviewed the evidence profiles for each question they developed. After the draft was discussed and approved by the entire committee, then the document was circulated among all members for voting on the quality of evidence and strength of recommendation.

DATA SYNTHESIS

The committee followed the principles of the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation system to determine quality of evidence and strength of recommendations.

CONCLUSIONS

This guideline evaluates the ICU environment as a risk for medication-related events and the environmental changes that are possible to improve safe medication use. Prevention strategies for medication-related events are reviewed by medication use process node (prescribing, distribution, administration, monitoring). Detailed considerations to an active surveillance system that includes reporting, identification, and evaluation are discussed. Also, highlighted is the need for future research for safe medication practices that is specific to critically ill patients.

Can causality assessment fulfill the new European definition of adverse drug reaction? A review of methods used in spontaneous reporting

Causality assessment is a fundamental biomedical technique for the signal detection performed by Pharmacovigilance centers in a Spontaneous reporting system. Moreover, it is a crucial and important practice for detecting preventable adverse drug reactions. Among different methods for causality assessment, algorithms (such as the Naranjo, or Begaud Methods) seem for their operational procedure and easier applicability one of the most commonly used methods. With the upcoming of the new European Pharmacovigilance legislation including in the definition of the adverse event also effects resulting from abuse, misuse and medication error, all well-known preventable causes of ADRs, there was an emerging need to evaluate whether algorithms could fulfill this new definition. In this review, twenty-two algorithmic methods were identified and none of them seemed to fulfill perfectly the new criteria of adverse event although some of them come close. In fact, several issues were arisen in applying causality assessment algorithms to these new definitions as for example the impossibility to answer the rechallenge question in case of medication error or AEFI (Adverse Event Following Immunization). Moreover, the exact conditions at which events occurred, as for example dosage or mode of administration should be considered to better assess causality in conditions of abuse/overdose, or misuse as well as in conditions of lack of expected efficacy reports for biotechnological drugs and adverse event occurring after mixing of vaccines. Therefore, this review highlights the need of updating algorithmic methods to allow a perfect applicability in all possible clinical scenarios accordingly or not with the terms of marketing authorization.

Mobile App Design, Development, and Publication for Adverse Drug Reaction Assessments of Causality, Severity, and Preventability

BACKGROUND

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) cause significant morbidity and mortality. Improved assessment of ADRs to identify the causal relationship, the severity, and the preventability will aid ADRs prevention or reduce patient burden.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to develop mobile apps in assisting clinical decision in ADR assessments of causality, severity, and preventability using validated tools. The usability of the apps was assessed.

METHODS

We designed mobile apps using validated assessment tools for ADRs. They are the Liverpool ADRs Causality Assessment Tool, Hartwig's Severity Assessment Scale, and the Modified Schumock and Thronton Preventability Scale. The apps were named "Adverse Drug ReactionCausality," "Adverse Drug ReactionSeverity," and "Adverse Drug RxnPreventability." A survey was conducted using the System Usability Scale (SUS) to assess the usability of the developed apps among health care professionals.

RESULTS

These apps are available for download through Google Play Store for free since January 2015. From the survey, the mean SUS score was 70.9 based on 26 responses from the pediatric ward of Hospital Ampang, Malaysia.

CONCLUSIONS

The developed apps received an overall acceptable usability among health care professionals. The usage of these apps will improve detection, assessment, and avoidance of future ADRs. They will also contribute to future research on ADRs, thus increasing drug safety.

The varieties of contemplative experience: A mixed-methods study of meditation-related challenges in Western Buddhists

Buddhist-derived meditation practices are currently being employed as a popular form of health promotion. While meditation programs draw inspiration from Buddhist textual sources for the benefits of meditation, these sources also acknowledge a wide range of other effects beyond health-related outcomes. The Varieties of Contemplative Experience study investigates meditation-related experiences that are typically underreported, particularly experiences that are described as challenging, difficult, distressing, functionally impairing, and/or requiring additional support. A mixed-methods approach featured qualitative interviews with Western Buddhist meditation practitioners and experts in Theravāda, Zen, and Tibetan traditions. Interview questions probed meditation experiences and influencing factors, including interpretations and management strategies. A follow-up survey provided quantitative assessments of causality, impairment and other demographic and practice-related variables. The content-driven thematic analysis of interviews yielded a taxonomy of 59 meditation-related experiences across 7 domains: cognitive, perceptual, affective, somatic, conative, sense of self, and social. Even in cases where the phenomenology was similar across participants, interpretations of and responses to the experiences differed considerably. The associated valence ranged from very positive to very negative, and the associated level of distress and functional impairment ranged from minimal and transient to severe and enduring. In order to determine what factors may influence the valence, impact, and response to any given experience, the study also identified 26 categories of influencing factors across 4 domains: practitioner-level factors, practice-level factors, relationships, and health behaviors. By identifying a broader range of experiences associated with meditation, along with the factors that contribute to the presence and management of experiences reported as challenging, difficult, distressing or functionally impairing, this study aims to increase our understanding of the effects of contemplative practices and to provide resources for mediators, clinicians, meditation researchers, and meditation teachers.

Drug Exposure and the Risk of Microscopic Colitis: A Critical Update

A variety of luminal antigens, including a wide range of drugs, have been associated with the still little-known pathophysiology of microscopic colitis (MC), with variable evidence suggesting causality. This article aims to review the aspects related to drugs as potential triggers of MC; to discuss the most commonly identified associations between drugs and MC; and to analyze the limitations of the studies currently available. A literature search was performed in PubMed combining the search terms 'drug exposure', 'drug consumption', and 'risk factors' with 'microscopic colitis', 'lymphocytic colitis', and 'collagenous colitis', with no language restrictions. Reference lists of retrieved documents were also reviewed. A handful of case-control studies have demonstrated significant associations between some commonly used drugs and a higher risk of developing MC. No universally accepted criteria for establishing cause-effect relationships in adverse reactions to drugs are available, but several methods that can be applied to MC, can provide degrees of the likelihood of an association. A high probability imputation in the development of MC as a drug adverse effect has only been demonstrated for individual cases by applying chronological (challenge, de-challenge, and relapse with re-challenge) and semiological criteria. Several case-control studies have shown significant associations between exposure to drugs and MC, but the variability in their design, the reference populations used, and the definitions for drug exposure considered require specific analyses. It can be concluded that drug exposure and MC as a likely cause-effect relationship has only been described for a handful of drugs and in individual cases.

Comparative analysis of three drug-drug interaction screening systems against probable clinically relevant drug-drug interactions: a prospective cohort study

PURPOSE

Drug-drug interaction (DDI) screening systems report potential DDIs. This study aimed to find the prevalence of probable DDI-related adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and compare the clinical usefulness of different DDI screening systems to prevent or warn against these ADRs.

METHODS

A prospective cohort study was conducted in patients urgently admitted to medical departments. Potential DDIs were checked using Complete Drug Interaction®, Lexicomp® Online™, and Drug Interaction Checker®. The study team identified the patients with probable clinically relevant DDI-related ADRs on admission, the causality of which was assessed using the Drug Interaction Probability Scale (DIPS). Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of screening systems to prevent or warn against probable DDI-related ADRs were evaluated.

RESULTS

Overall, 50 probable clinically relevant DDI-related ADRs were found in 37 out of 795 included patients taking at least two drugs, most common of them were bleeding, hyperkalemia, digitalis toxicity, and hypotension. Complete Drug Interaction showed the best sensitivity (0.76) for actual DDI-related ADRs, followed by Lexicomp Online (0.50), and Drug Interaction Checker (0.40). Complete Drug Interaction and Drug Interaction Checker had positive predictive values of 0.07; Lexicomp Online had 0.04. We found no difference in specificity and negative predictive values among these systems.

CONCLUSION

DDI screening systems differ significantly in their ability to detect probable clinically relevant DDI-related ADRs in terms of sensitivity and positive predictive value.

Interrater agreement of two adverse drug reaction causality assessment methods: A randomised comparison of the Liverpool Adverse Drug Reaction Causality Assessment Tool and the World Health Organization-Uppsala Monitoring Centre system

Introduction

A new method to assess causality of suspected adverse drug reactions, the Liverpool Adverse Drug Reaction Causality Assessment Tool (LCAT), showed high interrater agreement when used by its developers. Our aim was to compare the interrater agreement achieved by LCAT to that achieved by another causality assessment method, the World Health Organization-Uppsala Monitoring Centre system for standardised case causality assessment (WHO-UMC system), in our setting.

Methods

Four raters independently assessed adverse drug reaction causality of 48 drug-event pairs, identified during a hospital-based survey. A randomised design ensured that no washout period was required between assessments with the two methods. We compared the methods’ interrater agreement by calculating agreement proportions, kappa statistics, and the intraclass correlation coefficient. We identified potentially problematic questions in the LCAT by comparing raters’ responses to individual questions.

Results

Overall unweighted kappa was 0.61 (95% CI 0.43 to 0.80) on the WHO-UMC system and 0.27 (95% CI 0.074 to 0.46) on the LCAT. Pairwise unweighted Cohen kappa ranged from 0.33 to 1.0 on the WHO-UMC system and from 0.094 to 0.71 on the LCAT. The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.86 (95% CI 0.74 to 0.92) on the WHO-UMC system and 0.61 (95% CI 0.39 to 0.77) on the LCAT. Two LCAT questions were identified as significant points of disagreement.

Discussion

We were unable to replicate the high interrater agreement achieved by the LCAT developers and instead found its interrater agreement to be lower than that achieved when using the WHO-UMC system. We identified potential reasons for this and recommend priority areas for improving the LCAT.

Imputation of adverse drug reactions: Causality assessment in hospitals

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES

Different algorithms have been developed to standardize the causality assessment of adverse drug reactions (ADR). Although most share common characteristics, the results of the causality assessment are variable depending on the algorithm used. Therefore, using 10 different algorithms, the study aimed to compare inter-rater and multi-rater agreement for ADR causality assessment and identify the most consistent to hospitals.

METHODS

Using ten causality algorithms, four judges independently assessed the first 44 cases of ADRs reported during the first year of implementation of a risk management service in a medium complexity hospital in the state of Sao Paulo (Brazil). Owing to variations in the terminology used for causality, the equivalent imputation terms were grouped into four categories: definite, probable, possible and unlikely. Inter-rater and multi-rater agreement analysis was performed by calculating the Cohen´s and Light´s kappa coefficients, respectively.

RESULTS

None of the algorithms showed 100% reproducibility in the causal imputation. Fair inter-rater and multi-rater agreement was found. Emanuele (1984) and WHO-UMC (2010) algorithms showed a fair rate of agreement between the judges (k = 0.36).

INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSIONS

Although the ADR causality assessment algorithms were poorly reproducible, our data suggest that WHO-UMC algorithm is the most consistent for imputation in hospitals, since it allows evaluating the quality of the report. However, to improve the ability of assessing the causality using algorithms, it is necessary to include criteria for the evaluation of drug-related problems, which may be related to confounding variables that underestimate the causal association.

The impact of serious adverse drug reactions: a population-based study of a decade of hospital admissions in New South Wales, Australia

AIMS

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) have major impacts on patients and the hospital system. Methods identifying ADRs from selected International Classification of Diseases-10th revision (ICD-10) diagnosis and external cause codes can be applied to population-level hospital admissions data, enabling the study of rare, yet serious ADRs. The present study aimed to use ICD10-based methods to identify four types of serious idiosyncratic ADRs in Australia, and to assess changes in incidence and their impact on length of stay (LOS), readmission and in-hospital mortality.

METHODS

The study used a census of hospital admission data from New South Wales between July 2000 and June 2012. Changes in incidence rates over time relative to a control group were estimated using log-linear regression. To assess impacts on LOS, readmission and mortality, each ADR case was matched with five controls, and cases were compared with controls via generalized linear models appropriate to each outcome.

RESULTS

The incidence of three ADR types showed a significant increase over time relative to controls, while the fourth type showed no evidence of change. All ADR types were significantly associated with an increase in LOS of between 22% and 328%. Significant increases in risk of readmission or death were only observed for some ADR types.

CONCLUSIONS

Reducing the incidence of idiosyncratic ADRs is challenging. ICD10-based methods support population-level analyses that can provide important insights into the effects and changes in ADRs over time. This, combined with strategies related to both patient care and drug monitoring pre- and post-commercial release, provides ways forward.

Safety of a fixed-dose combination of artesunate and amodiaquine for the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in real-life conditions of use in Côte d'Ivoire

Background

In many malaria-endemic, sub-Saharan African countries, existing pharmacovigilance systems are not sufficiently operational to document reliably the safety profile of anti-malarial drugs. This study describes the implantation of a community-based pharmacovigilance system in Côte d’Ivoire and its use to document the safety of ASAQ Winthrop^® (artesunate–amodiaquine).

Methods

This prospective, longitudinal, descriptive, non-comparative, non-interventional study on the use of artesunate–amodiaquine in real-life conditions of use was conducted in seven Community Health Centres of the Agboville district in Côte d’Ivoire. Twenty trained Health Centre employees and 70 trained community health workers were involved in data collection in the field. All patients with suspected uncomplicated falciparum malaria, seeking treatment at one of the participating Health Centres, and treated with artesunate–amodiaquine could be enrolled. Two visits were planned, one for inclusion at the Health Centre and a second at home, performed by a community health worker 3–10 days after the inclusion visit. Administration of artesunate–amodiaquine was unsupervised. Adverse events (AEs) were documented at the home visit or during any unexpected visit to the Health Centre or to the hospital and coded and adjudicated by a local pharmacovigilance committee. Symptoms suggestive of hepatic failure, severe neutropaenia, extrapyramidal disorders and retinopathy were considered a priori as AEs of special interest.

Results

Some 15,228 malaria episodes in 12,198 patients were evaluated; 2545 AEs were documented during 1978 malaria episodes (13.0%). The most frequently observed events were asthenia (682 cases), vomiting (482 cases) and somnolence (174 cases). Most reported AEs were of mild or moderate intensity and resolved without corrective treatment. One-hundred and five (105) AEs reported during 100 episodes (0.7%) were considered as serious. Three serious cases of transient extrapyramidal disorders, identified as AEs of special interest were reported in three patients.

Conclusion

The fixed dose artesunate–amodiaquine combination ASAQ Winthrop^® for the unsupervised treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria under real-life conditions of care in Côte d’Ivoire is well tolerated. The study emphasizes the interest of involving properly trained community health workers to collect pharmacovigilance data in the field in order to document rare AEs.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12936-016-1655-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The development and piloting of "ATTEND DR," a clinical teaching tool to identify and prioritize potential causes of adverse drug reactions

BACKGROUND

The identification, management, and reporting of adverse drug reactions are integral to clinical practice and education; however, undergraduate teaching related to adverse drug reactions may be inadequate for practice. Existing methods of causality assessment have a number of limitations in relation to clinical teaching, for example, they do not deal well with the concurrent use of other medications.

OBJECTIVE

To develop and pilot a teaching tool to guide students through the process of identifying and prioritizing potential causes of an adverse drug reaction.

SETTING

University-based School of Pharmacy, Australia: an undergraduate Quality Use of Medicines course.

METHOD

A contrived acronym (mnemonic) was developed from causality assessments and discussions with practitioners. The acronym ATTEND DR (abnormality, taken, timeline, evidence, nothing else?, dose, dechallenge, and rechallenge) was piloted in workshops that focussed on adverse drug reactions and their management. Students' responses to "What did you find most valuable about today's workshop?" and "How could we improve?" were analyzed.

RESULTS

All attendees responded (65/65). Students indicated that the ATTEND DR acronym was easy to remember, and facilitated causality assessment in a clinical context, due to an easily followed, step-by-step, comprehensive process that was easy to remember. More practice case studies were requested.

CONCLUSION

The ATTEND DR acronym was designed to address limitations of the existing methods of causality assessment in relation to clinical teaching and preparation of students for future clinical roles. Students responded favorably to its introduction, commenting that it was easily remembered and provided a comprehensive, clinically orientated, step-by-step process.

Interaction Between Low-Dose Methotrexate and Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs, Penicillins, and Proton Pump Inhibitors

Objective: To review the potential drug interactions between low-dose methotrexate (LD-MTX) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), penicillins, and proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) given the disparity between interactions reported for high-dose and low-dose MTX to help guide clinicians. Data Sources: A literature search was performed in MEDLINE (1946 to September 2016), EMBASE (1974 to September 2016), and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (1970 to January 2015) to identify reports describing potential drug interactions between LD-MTX and NSAIDS, penicillins, or PPIs. Reference lists of included articles were reviewed to find additional eligible articles. Study Selection and Data Extraction: All English-language observational, randomized, and pharmacokinetic (PK) studies assessing LD-MTX interactions in humans were analyzed to determine clinical relevance in making recommendations to clinicians. Clinical case reports were assigned a Drug Interaction Probability Scale score. Data Synthesis: A total of 32 articles were included (28 with NSAIDs, 3 with penicillins, and 2 with PPIs [1 including both PPI and NSAID]). Although there are some PK data to describe increased LD-MTX concentrations when NSAIDs are used concomitantly, the clinical relevance remains unclear. Based on the limited data on LD-MTX with penicillins and PPIs, no clinically meaningful interaction was identified. Conclusion: Given the available evidence, the clinical importance of the interaction between LD-MTX and NSAIDs, penicillins, and PPIs cannot be substantiated. Health care providers should assess the benefit and risk of LD-MTX regardless of concomitant drug use, including factors known to predispose patients to MTX toxicity, and continue to monitor clinical and laboratory parameters per guideline recommendations.

Safety of Gadobutrol: Results From 42 Clinical Phase II to IV Studies and Postmarketing Surveillance After 29 Million Applications

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to provide a systematic safety analysis of gadobutrol after more than 29 million applications in clinical routine.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Forty-two clinical development phase II to IV studies on gadobutrol or comparator and the postmarketing safety surveillance database for gadobutrol (1998-2015) were analyzed. Adverse events (AEs) and drug-related AEs were evaluated in the clinical development database and spontaneous adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in the postmarketing database. Subgroup analyses were run on patients with special medical history and on patients of different age groups.

RESULTS

In the clinical development studies, 6809 and 2184 patients received gadobutrol or comparators, respectively. The incidence of drug-related AEs was 3.5% for both groups. With the exception of nausea (0.7% related cases in both groups), all other drug-related AEs were 0.3% or less in both groups. Hypersensitivity reactions were sporadic (<0.1%). Patients with history of allergies to contrast agents experienced slightly more drug-related AEs. No differences were seen between age groups.The overall reporting rate of ADRs from postmarketing surveillance was 0.05%. The most frequent ADRs were anaphylactoid/hypersensitivity reactions, nausea, vomiting, and dyspnea.For 3 single-agent reports of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis, using a conservative approach, association with gadobutrol could not be excluded.

CONCLUSIONS

Gadobutrol is well tolerated and has a favorable safety profile for patients of all age groups.

Serious adverse drug events related to non-investigational drugs in academic clinical trials: another source of safety data for risk assessment?

AIMS

Sponsors of clinical trials have to analyze serious adverse events (SAEs). Both sponsors and investigators determine the relationship between the investigational medicinal product, the investigational device or procedure and SAEs. SAEs related to another cause, such as a non-investigational medicinal product (NIMP), do not have clear pharmacovigilance reporting requirements. The aim of this study was to evaluate the amount and the nature of NIMP-related SAEs recorded by three French academic sponsors and to propose pharmacovigilance requirements for these cases.

METHODS

This was a retrospective descriptive study including all cases of NIMP-related SAEs occurring in clinical trials and reported to three academic sponsors between January 2009 and October 2014.

RESULTS

Among 5870 cases of SAEs, 300 (5%) were related to a NIMP in 50 clinical trials. Involved NIMPs were mainly antithrombotics, cytostatics and immunosuppressants. Some of these drugs were currently followed by a risk management plan (e.g. rivoxaban). The most frequent NIMP-related SAEs were neurological, gastrointestinal and infectious disorders. Seven NIMP-related SAEs were known as 'rare' or 'very rare' and two were 'unlabelled'.

CONCLUSIONS

As far as we know, this is the first study to focus about NIMP-related SAEs occurring in clinical trials. This work highlights the potential high quality source of safety data via NIMP-related SAE collection. Globally, we propose that NIMP-related SAEs occurring in clinical trials should systematically be notified to the pharmacovigilance system of the concerned country. Clearer procedures of interactions between safety units of academic sponsors and pharmacovigilance systems are needed to allow an effective recording of NIMP-related SAEs.

Safety reporting through a comprehensive and pragmatic pharmcovigilance process for India and emerging markets: an industry perspective

INTRODUCTION

Pharmacovigilance (PV) deals with the drug-related adverse reactions ensuring patients' safety. Emerging markets of India, South East Asia (SEA), Russia, Latin America (LA), Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have developed their own PV programs. However, under/manual reporting accompanied with lack of awareness regarding adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are major drawbacks that continue to exist due to lack of co-ordination and disparity in the regulatory approach.

AREAS COVERED

Of the 118 studies identified using various databases, 60 were included for the review. The authors discuss the present PV scenario of India, SEA, Russia, LA and MENA, and explain a basic process for uniform PV data input-output across industry, which includes data collection, analysis, processing, causality assessment and data distribution systems.

EXPERT OPINION

As the number of clinical trials conducted are rising in the emerging markets, there is a need to understand and implement a robust PV system, where electronically globalized, evidence based, public health oriented and regulatory compliant PV system is established. This would also improve transparency in system and ensure enhancement in safety data reporting ensuring premature and trouble-free detection of ADRs. It might result in implementing various PV boosting activities, which could yield robust patient safety data from India and emerging markets.