An Empirical Approach to Explore the Relationship Between Measures of Disproportionate Reporting and Relative Risks from Analytical Studies

Drug classes associated with the development of fulminant type 1 diabetes: a retrospective analysis using the FDA adverse event reporting system database

BACKGROUND

Fulminant type 1 diabetes mellitus (FT1DM) is a severe subtype of type 1 diabetes characterized by rapid onset, metabolic disturbances, and irreversible insulin secretion failure. Recent studies have suggested associations between FT1DM and certain medications, warranting further investigation.

OBJECTIVES

This study aims to identify drugs associated with an increased risk of FT1DM using the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) database, evaluate reporting patterns, and provide actionable insights to reduce FT1DM occurrence and improve medication safety.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis of FAERS data from 2013 to 2023 was conducted. Drug names were standardized using text mining tools, and safety signals were evaluated using reporting odds ratio (ROR), proportional reporting ratio (PRR), Bayesian Confidence Propagation Neural Network (BCPNN), and Multi-item Gamma Poisson Shrinker (MGPS).

RESULTS

A total of 706 FT1DM cases were identified, predominantly in older individuals and males. Nineteen drugs were implicated, including immune checkpoint inhibitors (nivolumab, ipilimumab, pembrolizumab, avelumab, durvalumab, atezolizumab), lenvatinib, eribulin, psychiatric drugs (atomoxetine, carbamazepine, lamotrigine), anti-infectives (sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim, amoxicillin), and metabolic modulators (dapagliflozin, sitagliptin, hydrochlorothiazide, allopurinol).

CONCLUSION

This study highlights drugs potentially triggering FT1DM and emphasizes the need for pharmacovigilance and glucose monitoring in patients treated with these medications.

Drug-induced herpes zoster: a pharmacovigilance analysis of FDA adverse event reports from 2004 to 2024

Background

Herpes zoster severely impacts patients' quality of life and therapeutic results. This research utilized data from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) to examine the prevalence and attributes of drug-induced herpes zoster.

Methods

We analyzed FAERS reports about zoster from Q1 2004 to Q3 2024 and developed a list of possible pathogenic agents. Ranked the 30 medicines with the greatest incidence of reported herpes zoster cases. Statistical disproportionality analysis was employed to identify an elevated reporting frequency of herpes zoster linked to a particular medication.

Results

Herpes zoster was referenced in 50,164 FAERS reports from 2004 to 2024. The majority of the implicated drugs were immunosuppressants. Anifrolumab exhibited the greatest ROR and PRR ratings among the drugs evaluated. Furthermore, rozanolixizumab, tozinameran, elapegademase, and other medications not indicated for inducing herpes zoster were recognized, underscoring the necessity for increased clinical vigilance and awareness. Nonetheless, these correlations should be regarded with caution, as they do not establish a direct causative relationship.

Conclusion

This study underscores the need of pharmacovigilance in recognizing and comprehending drug-induced herpes zoster. Additional research is required to validate these findings and to design strategies for risk management and reduction to enhance treatment outcomes in patients.

Risk comparison of adverse reactions between gemcitabine monotherapy and gemcitabine combined with albumin-bound paclitaxel in pancreatic cancer: insights from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) database

BACKGROUND

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a highly aggressive malignancy with limited treatment options. Although gemcitabine monotherapy (G treatment) has long been a standard treatment, combination therapies, such as gemcitabine with albumin-bound paclitaxel (AG treatment), have shown improved outcomes and were approved by the FDA for the PC. However, the AG treatment is also associated with increased adverse events (AEs), which remain inadequately evaluated in real-world settings.

METHODS

We utilized the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) to conduct a large-scale pharmacovigilance analysis comparing the safety profiles of G and AG treatments for PC. By analyzing adverse event data from the third quarter of 2013 to the second quarter of 2024 and quantifying AE signals with reporting odds ratio (ROR) and proportional reporting ratio (PRR) methods, we compared the risk of AEs between the groups. Time to onset (TTO), subgroup and logistic regression analyses were also performed.

RESULTS

The study revealed a higher proportion of male (n = 2307, 54.1%) and elderly patients (age ≥ 65years, n = 2172, 50.9%) in the AG treatment group compared to the G treatment group. We found 17 preferred terms with positive signals at the top 50 common AEs, especially in gastrointestinal and blood systems. Cardiac and neurological AEs also needed to be vigilant. Biliary sepsis and infectious enterocolitis were newly identified AEs and deserve attention. Median TTO was 34 (IQR: 8-103) days (G) and 41 (IQR: 10-104) days (AG), with most AEs occurring within the first month (48.3% and 44%). Subgroup analysis revealed that male patients using the AG treatment had the highest risk of immune-mediated hepatitis (ROR = 23.51, 95% CI = 3.21-172.1), while elderly patients had elevated risks for presyncope (ROR = 24.84, 95% CI = 3.40-181.28) and falls (ROR = 18.60, 95% CI = 2.53-136.97). Logistic regression showed higher-risk fatal outcomes in males (adjusted OR = 1.42, 95% CI = 1.15-1.76, P < 0.01) and elderly patients (adjusted OR = 1.36, 95% CI = 1.10-1.69, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSION

This research offers critical safety insights in real-world settings, emphasizing patients at heightened AEs risk and informing clinical decision-making in PC treatment.

The real-world analysis of adverse events with azacitidine: a pharmacovigilance study based on the FAERS and WHO-VigiAccess databases

Background

Azacitidine is used to treat myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). It acts as a cytosine analog and DNA methyltransferase inhibitor, inducing DNA hypomethylation to reverse epigenetic modifications and restore normal gene expression. However, adverse events (AEs) associated with azacitidine are mainly reported in clinical trials, with limited real-world evidence. This study aims to assess the AE profile of azacitidine by utilizing data from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) and WHO-VigiAccess databases.

Methods

We extracted adverse event (AE) reports related to azacitidine from the FAERS and WHO-VigiAccess databases, covering the period from the drug's market introduction to the third quarter of 2024. We used statistical methods including Reporting Odds Ratio (ROR), Proportional Reporting Ratio (PRR), Bayesian Confidence Propagation Neural Network (BCPNN), and Empirical Bayesian Geometric Mean (EBGM) to analyze the association between azacitidine and documented AEs.

Results

The investigation unveiled 16,056 azacitidine-related adverse event (AE) reports from FAERS and 19,867 reports from WHO-VigiAccess. The median duration for the occurrence of these AEs during the observation period was 36 days, with an interquartile range (IQR) spanning from 11 to 126 days. Our statistical analysis identified 27 organ systems associated with AEs induced by azacitidine. Among these, the notable System Organ Classes (SOCs) that met four specific criteria included: infections and infestations, blood and lymphatic system disorders, and neoplasms benign, malignant, and unspecified (including cysts and polyps). Four algorithms identified 443 significant disproportionality preferred terms (PTs), including previously unreported AEs such as death, sepsis, septic shock, respiratory failure, cardiac failure, tumor lysis syndrome, bone marrow failure, interstitial lung disease, and pericarditis. Analysis from the WHO-VigiAccess database showed a ROR of 3.65 and a PRR of 3.30 for the SOC of infections and infestations.

Conclusion

This research not only confirms the widely acknowledged AEs linked to azacitidine but also uncovers several potentially new safety concerns noted in actual clinical practice. These results may offer important vigilance information for clinicians and pharmacists when addressing safety issues associated with azacitidine.

Drug-associated glaucoma: A real-world study based on the Food and Drug Administration adverse event reporting system database

BACKGROUND

This study aims to assess the risk of drug-associated glaucoma and track its epidemiological characteristics using real-world data.

METHODS

Adverse event reports from the Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) from January 2004 to December 2023 were analysed. Disproportionality analysis and the Bayesian Confidence Propagation Neural Network algorithm were used. The study classified drugs associated with glaucoma, assessed risk levels, and compared drug-induced times across different categories.

RESULTS

Eight hundred and five drugs were linked to glaucoma in the FAERS database. Disproportionality analysis identified 46 drugs with significant risk, mainly adrenergic medications (clobetasol propionate, fluocinolone acetonide), antihypertensives (hydrochlorothiazide), insulin (insulin human), anticholinergics (umeclidinium, darifenacin), VEGF inhibitors (brolucizumab, faricimab), and psychotropics (topiramate, ziprasidone). The top three high-risk drugs were clobetasol propionate, umeclidinium, and fluocinolone acetonide. The shortest drug-induced times were observed with indacaterol, salmeterol, and umeclidinium. Anticholinergic medications had the shortest drug-induced time among all categories. Females (62.5%) and the elderly (average age 63.5 ± 16.8 years) were predominantly affected. Reports of drug-associated glaucoma increased over the years.

CONCLUSION

Preventing drug-associated glaucoma is more effective than treatment. Identifying the risk and drug-induced times of systemic and ophthalmic drugs can reduce occurrence risk. Clinical practitioners should be vigilant and inform patients of these risks.

Disproportionality Analysis and Causal Inference in Drug Safety

Disproportionality analysis is a method of safety signal detection based on quantitative analysis of spontaneous reports of adverse events. Disproportionality findings are often presented in medical publications as real-world evidence on drug safety. In this paper, we review theoretical properties of disproportionality analysis in the framework of causal inference theory. We show that measures of disproportionality can approximate the causal rate ratio for a specific drug-event combination when the study drug and the set of comparator drugs satisfy all of the following conditions: (1) there is no uncontrolled confounding for the drug-event association of interest, (2) under-reporting for the event of interest is either absent or has the same relative magnitude for the study drug and for the comparator drugs, and (3) reporting rates for all adverse events combined are the same for the study drug and for the comparator drug set. Because these conditions are typically not even approximately satisfied in practice, the overwhelming majority of disproportionality hits represent statistical noise rather than causal associations. Researchers choosing to report disproportionality findings in publications should explicitly acknowledge all key assumptions and the exploratory nature of this data-mining technique.

Risk of drug-induced delirium in older patients- a pharmacovigilance study of FDA adverse event reporting system database

BACKGROUND

Drug-induced delirium is known risk factors associated with increased morbidity and mortality in older patients. The objective was to evaluate the risk of drug-related delirium in older patients based on the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS).

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Delirium reports in older patients (age ≥65) extracted from the FAERS database using Open Vigil 2.1. The reported odds ratio and the proportional reported ratio were calculated to detect the adverse reaction signal of delirium. Combined with published evidence, suspected drugs were categorized as known, possible, or new potential delirium-risk-increasing drugs.

RESULTS

Of the 130,885 reports (including 28,850 delirium events and 1,857 drugs) analyzed for this study, 314 positive signal drugs were detected. Positive signal drugs are mainly concentrated on the drug of nervous system, cardiovascular system , alimentary tract and metabolism and anti-infectives for systemic use. Of the positive signal drugs, 26.11% (82/314) were known delirium-risk increasing drugs, 44.90% (141/314) were possible and 28.98% (91/314) were new potential.

CONCLUSION

Drug-induced delirium risk is prevalent in older patients, according to the FAERS. The risk level of drug-induced delirium should be taken into account to optimize drug therapy in clinical practice.

Drug-induced hyponatraemia and possible related signals: Analysis of 659 cases reported to the Spanish Pharmacovigilance System and disproportionality analysis

INTRODUCTION

Hyponatraemia has negative effects on cognitive function and gait stability and is a risk factor for osteoporosis, falls, fractures and hospital mortality. Acute hyponatraemia can lead to neurological dysfunction due to cerebral oedema. Its rapid correction can also be fatal, leading to osmotic demyelination syndrome. For some antiepileptics, thiazides, benzodiazepines or antidepressants this reaction is widely described. Knowing which drugs are most likely to cause hyponatraemia will allow early detection and prevention of its complications, as well as individualising the prescription of these drugs according to the patient's characteristics.

OBJECTIVE

The main objectives are to identify potential new safety signals related to hyponatraemia and to analyse the cases of hyponatraemia reported to the Spanish Pharmacovigilance System for Medicines for Human Use (SEFV-H).

METHOD

A disproportionality and a descriptive analysis of individual case safety reports (ICSR) was performed in the SEFV-H database (FEDRA).

RESULTS

Six hundred and fifty-nine cases of suspected drug-induced hyponatraemia were found (0.6% of the total database). Over the 5 years period studied, there was a 57% increase in the number of hyponatraemia reports in Spain. Most of the reported cases were serious (93%). Patients were most often women (63.7%) and elderly (71.9%). The time to onset ranged from 1 to 7030 days (median, 79 days) and approximately 70% of the total occurred within the first year of treatment. Five hundred and forty-six patients (82.9%) showed complete recovery after the withdrawal of the suspected medicine. Diuretics (reported in 57.7% of the cases), antidepressants (in 25%), drugs acting on renin angiotensin system (in 24%) and antiepileptics (in 20.2%) were the most frequent involved drugs. Disproportionate reporting has been found for almost all the substances most frequently reported, higher for amiloride and oxcarbazepine. Regarding new safety signals, the Reporting Odds Ratio (ROR) (95% CI) was found to be statistically significant for valsartan [7.7 (5.1-11.5)], olmesartan [7.3 (4.7-11.1)], amlodipine [3.4 (2.1-5.4)], pregabalin [2.5 (1.4-4.5)], irbesartan [18.6 (9.6-35.9)], paliperidone [2.7 (1.3-5.7)], ritonavir [2.4 (1.1-5.5)], atosiban [29.7 (8.6-102.2)], melphalan [9.7 (3.5-26.8)] and clozapine [4.4 (1.6-11.8)]. These active ingredients do not include this reaction on their SPC and comply with the EMA criteria for a safety signals.

CONCLUSION

There are increasing reports of drug-induced hyponatraemia. It can be serious and seems to most often affect women over 65 years of age who take more than 1 medication. The time to onset varies and can be very long, so patient monitoring should be continuous throughout treatment. Hydrochlorothiazide is the drug with the highest number of reported cases in our setting. In terms of disproportionate reporting, diuretics leads the list, followed by antiepileptics as oxcarbazepine and eslicarbazepine. Safety signals were found for several drugs, more plausibly for pregabalin and paliperidone, thus a possible association between these drugs and hyponatraemia/SIAD is identified. This signal must be further studied. Meanwhile healthcare professionals should pay attention to this possibility. The reporting of suspected ADRs is essential to understand the risks associated with medicines once they are on the market.

The reporting of disproportionality analysis in pharmacovigilance: spotlight on the READUS-PV guideline

Disproportionality analyses are the most-commonly used study design used in the post-marketing phase to detect suspected adverse drug reactions in individual case safety reports. Recent years have witnessed an exponential increase in published articles on disproportionality analyses, thanks to publicly accessible databases. Unfortunately, this trend was accompanied by concerns on lack of transparency and misinterpretation of results, both generating unjustified alarm and diluting true signals into overwhelming noise. The READUS-PV guideline for reporting disproportionality analysis was developed to tackle this emerging issue. In this perspective article, we describe the rationale behind the development of the READUS-PV guideline, the first collaborative initiative to harmonize the reporting of disproportionality analyses. The adoption of the checklists will assist researchers, regulators, and reviewers in the reporting, assessment, and publication of disproportionality analyses. Acknowledging the challenges ahead of effective implementation, we advocate for a global endorsement by Pharmacology Journals. A wide dissemination of the READUS-PV guideline is crucial to foster transparency and reproducibility of pharmacovigilance research, supporting an effective exploitation of disproportionality analysis among other irreplaceable post-marketing research tools to ensure drug safety.

Adverse events of topical ocular prostaglandin medications for glaucoma treatment: a pharmacovigilance study based on the FAERS database

Background

As prostaglandin medications, crucial in glaucoma treatment, become more widely used, their local adverse events are increasingly observed.

Objectives

To evaluate the common adverse events of four clinically commonly used prostaglandin F (FP) receptor agonists in the treatment of glaucoma in the Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) database.

Design

We screened and analyzed the generic and brand names of latanoprost, bimatoprost, travoprost, and tafluprost in the FAERS database and summarized and cleaned the baseline information of subjects receiving the above-mentioned drugs.

Methods

Perform descriptive statistical analysis on the baseline information of subjects using the drugs. Conduct disproportionality analysis of drug-related adverse events. The criteria for positive signals of adverse events are established by simultaneously meeting the thresholds set by four methods: the ratio of reported odds, proportional reporting ratio, Bayesian confidence propagation neural network, and multi-item gamma Poisson shrinker. Additionally, assess the cumulative risk curves for drug-induced time of the aforementioned drugs and use one-way ANOVA to compare differences in drug-induced time across different groups.

Results

The study included 1567 latanoprost, 1517 bimatoprost, 696 travoprost, and 82 tafluprost subjects. Adverse events mainly affected eye disorders, with significant issues in iris hyperpigmentation, ocular pemphigoid, corneal endothelial cell loss, periorbital fat atrophy, corneal irritation, eyelash growth, and ocular hyperemia. The time to onset varied among drugs, with latanoprost showing the longest (mean days = 344.37) and bimatoprost the shortest duration (mean days = 155.65; p < 0.001).

Conclusion

Although signal detection analysis based on the FAERS database cannot establish a definitive causal relationship, our study found that FP receptor agonists used in glaucoma can cause various adverse events. Assessing their clinical suitability and potential side effects is crucial for providing personalized treatment and ensuring medication safety.

Drug-Related Keratitis: A Real-World FDA Adverse Event Reporting System Database Study

Purpose

This study aimed to assess the drug risk of drug-related keratitis and track the epidemiological characteristics of drug-related keratitis.

Methods

This study analyzed data from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) database from January 2004 to December 2023. A disproportionality analysis was conducted to assess drug-related keratitis with positive signals, and drugs were classified and assessed with regard to their drug-induced timing and risk of drug-related keratitis.

Results

A total of 1606 drugs were reported to pose a risk of drug-related keratitis in the FAERS database, and, after disproportionality analysis and screening, 17 drugs were found to significantly increase the risk of drug-related keratitis. Among them, seven were ophthalmic medications, including dorzolamide (reporting odds ratio [ROR] = 3695.82), travoprost (ROR = 2287.27), and brimonidine (ROR = 2118.52), and 10 were non-ophthalmic medications, including tralokinumab (ROR = 2609.12), trazodone (ROR = 2377.07), and belantamab mafodotin (ROR = 680.28). The top three drugs having the highest risk of drug-related keratitis were dorzolamide (Bayesian confidence propagation neural network [BCPNN] = 11.71), trazodone (BCPNN = 11.11), and tralokinumab (BCPNN = 11.08). The drug-induced times for non-ophthalmic medications were significantly shorter than those for ophthalmic medications (mean days, 141.02 vs. 321.96, respectively; P < 0.001). The incidence of drug-related keratitis reached its peak in 2023.

Conclusions

Prevention of drug-related keratitis is more important than treatment. Identifying the specific risks and timing of drug-induced keratitis can support the development of preventive measures.

Translational Relevance

Identifying the specific drugs related to medication-related keratitis is of significant importance for drug vigilance in the occurrence of drug-related keratitis.

Real-World Large Sample Assessment of Drug-related Dry Eye Risk: Based on the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System Database

PURPOSE AND DESIGN

This study aimed to evaluate the risk of drug-related dry eye using real-world data, underscoring the significance of tracing pharmacological etiology for distinct clinical types of dry eye.

METHODS

Analyzing adverse event reports in the Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) from January 2004 to September 2023, we employed disproportionality analysis and the Bayesian confidence propagation neural network algorithm. The analysis involved categorizing drugs causing dry eye, assessing risk levels, and conducting segmental assessments based on the time of onset of drug-related dry eye adverse reactions.

RESULTS

In the FAERS database, adverse reactions related to dry eye were linked to 1160 drugs. Disproportionality analysis identified 33 drugs with significant risk, notably in ophthalmic (brimonidine, bimatoprost), oncology (tisotumab vedotin, erdafitinib), and other medications (isotretinoin, oxymetazoline). The top three drugs with the highest risk of drug-related dry eye are isotretinoin (Bayesian confidence propagation neural network (BCPNN) = 6.88), tisotumab vedotin (BCPNN = 6.88), and brimonidine (BCPNN = 6.77). Among different categories of drugs, respiratory medications have the shortest mean onset time for drug-related dry eye, averaging 50.99 days. The prevalence skewed towards females (69.9 %), particularly in menopausal and elderly individuals (45-70 years old, mean age 54.7 ± 18.2). Reports of drug-related dry eye adverse reactions showed an annual increase.

CONCLUSION

Informed clinical decision-making is crucial for preventing drug-related dry eye. Assessing the risk of dry eyes associated with both local and systemic medications helps optimize treatment and provide necessary cautionary information.

The evolving role of disproportionality analysis in pharmacovigilance

INTRODUCTION

From 2009 to 2015, the IMI PROTECT conducted rigorous studies addressing questions about optimal implementation and significance of disproportionality analyses, leading to the development of Good Signal Detection Practices. The ensuing period witnessed the independent exploration of research paths proposed by IMI PROTECT, accumulating valuable experience and insights that have yet to be seamlessly integrated.

AREAS COVERED

This state-of-the-art review integrates IMI PROTECT recommendations with recent acquisitions and evolving challenges. It deals with defining the object of study, disproportionality methods, subgrouping, masking, drug-drug interaction, duplication, expectedness, the debated use of disproportionality results as risk measures, integration with other types of data.

EXPERT OPINION

Despite the ongoing skepticism regarding the usefulness of disproportionality analyses and individual case safety reports, their ability to timely detect safety signals regarding rare and unpredictable adverse reactions remains unparalleled. Moreover, recent exploration into their potential for characterizing safety signals revealed valuable insights concerning potential risk factors and the patient's perspective. To fully realize their potential beyond hypothesis generation and achieve a comprehensive evidence synthesis with other kinds of data and studies, each with their unique limitations and contributions, we need to investigate methods for more transparently communicating disproportionality results and mapping and addressing pharmacovigilance biases.

Comparing the adverse effects of ketamine and esketamine between genders using FAERS data

Background

Ketamine was developed as an anesthetic. Esketamine is the isolated S-enantiomer of racemic ketamine. They provide new avenues for the treatment of depression, especially treatment-resistant depression. Considering differences in the pharmacokinetics and hormonal status of ketamine in patients of different genders, sex-based differences in esketamine adverse drug events (ADE) may also be observed. This study presents data mining and safety analysis of adverse events of ketamine and esketamine between genders, promoting the individualization of clinical practice.

Methods

Adverse drug reactions to ketamine and esketamine reported between the first quarter of 2004 and the second quarter of 2023 in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) were extracted. Thereafter, the reporting odds ratio (ROR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated.

Results

A total of 2907 female reports and 1634 male reports on esketamine were included in the analysis. ROR mining showed that completed suicide, decreased therapeutic product effects, urinary retention, and hypertension were common in men. Additionally, 552 female and 653 male ketamine reports were recorded. ROR mining revealed that toxicity to various agents, bradycardia, cystitis and agitation, were more likely to occur in men, whereas women were more likely to develop suicidal ideation, increased transaminase levels, sclerosing cholangitis, and sterile pyuria.

Conclusion

The adverse events of esketamine and ketamine differ across genders, which should be considered in clinical practice to provide individualized treatment.

The REporting of A Disproportionality Analysis for DrUg Safety Signal Detection Using Individual Case Safety Reports in PharmacoVigilance (READUS-PV): Explanation and Elaboration

In pharmacovigilance, disproportionality analyses based on individual case safety reports are widely used to detect safety signals. Unfortunately, publishing disproportionality analyses lacks specific guidelines, often leading to incomplete and ambiguous reporting, and carries the risk of incorrect conclusions when data are not placed in the correct context. The REporting of A Disproportionality analysis for drUg Safety signal detection using individual case safety reports in PharmacoVigilance (READUS-PV) statement was developed to address this issue by promoting transparent and comprehensive reporting of disproportionality studies. While the statement paper explains in greater detail the procedure followed to develop these guidelines, with this explanation paper we present the 14 items retained for READUS-PV guidelines, together with an in-depth explanation of their rationale and bullet points to illustrate their practical implementation. Our primary objective is to foster the adoption of the READUS-PV guidelines among authors, editors, peer reviewers, and readers of disproportionality analyses. Enhancing transparency, completeness, and accuracy of reporting, as well as proper interpretation of their results, READUS-PV guidelines will ultimately facilitate evidence-based decision making in pharmacovigilance.

New Adverse Drug Reaction Signals from 2017 to 2021-Genuine Alerts or False Alarms?

Spontaneous adverse events reporting systems are used internationally to flag new or unexpected adverse drug reactions (ADRs). Disproportionality analysis is a recognised technique, but false alarms may arise. We aimed to determine whether these new ADR signals had subsequently been followed-up with detailed hypothesis-testing studies. We searched PubMed to identify published studies (years 2017-2021) where the authors reported findings of new ADR signals from disproportionality analyses. We used PubMed and forward citation tracking (Google Scholar) to identify any subsequent confirmatory studies of these ADR signals. We screened 414 titles and abstracts and checked the full-text articles of 57 studies. We found signals for 56 suspected new ADRs from 24 drugs. Google Scholar showed that the ADR studies had been cited a median of seven times (range 0-61). However, none of the suspected new ADRs had undergone detailed evaluation in the citing literature. Similarly, our PubMed search did not find any confirmation studies for the 56 suspected new ADRs. Although many suspected new ADR signals have been identified through disproportionality analysis, most signals have not been further verified as being either genuine ADRs or false alarms. Researchers must focus on follow-up studies for these new signals.

Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell immunotherapies adverse events reported to FAERS database: focus on cytopenias

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy presents a promising treatment for hematologic malignancies, displaying high efficacy but not being exempt from toxicity. In this observational study, we assessed adverse events (AEs) reported to the Food and Drug Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) including any of the six approved CAR T-cell therapies. A total of 5249 reports mentioning a CAR T-cell as a suspect product were retrieved from the FAERS database, containing a total of 24333 AEs, of which 3236 (13.3%) were cytopenias. The highest number of AEs mentioned by the report was observed for tisagenlecleucel (mean = 6.7), with the lowest for ciltacabtagene (mean = 1.3). Among all reports, hematopoietic leukopenia was the most frequently reported AEs (n = 1386, 5.7%), with hematopoietic erytropenia the least reported (n = 291, 1.2%). Tisagenlecleucel showed a high reporting odds ratio for hematopoietic erythropenia (27.28, 95%CI 14.04-53.00), leukopenia (4.04, 95%CI 3.52-4.64), and thrombocytopenia (4.01, 95%CI 3.19-5.03). Cytopenias represent one of the most frequently reported AEs in FAERS, a CAR T-cell therapy is indicated, with haematopoetic leukopenia being the most common. When comparing different CAR-T cell therapies, the cytopenias' reporting odds ratio was particularly high for tisagenlecleucel, especially in relation to hematopoietic erythropenia.

Hydroxychloroquine safety in Covid-19 vs non-Covid-19 patients: analysis of differences and potential interactions

BACKGROUND

The use of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) in the first COVID-19 epidemic wave raised safety concerns.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Adverse reactions (ADR) suspected to be induced by HCQ and submitted to the Spanish Pharmacovigilance Database were studied. A disproportionality analysis was performed to determine adverse effects reported in non-Covid and Covid patients. To explore potential drug-drug interactions, Omega (Ω) statistics was calculated.

RESULTS

More severe cases were reported when used in COVID-19. Main differences in frequency were observed in hepatobiliary, skin, gastrointestinal, eye, nervous system and heart ADRs. During the COVID-19 pandemic, high disproportionality in reports was found for Torsade de Pointes/QT prolongation with a ROR (-ROR) of 132.8 (76.7); severe hepatotoxicity, 18.7 (14.7); dyslipidaemias, 12.1 (6.1); shock, 9.5 (6.9) and ischemic colitis, 8.9 (2.6). Myopathies, hemolytic disorders and suicidal behavior increased their disproportionality during the pandemic. Disproportionality was observed for neoplasms, hematopoietic cytopaenias and interstitial lung disease in the pre-COVID-19 period. Potential interactions were showed between HCQ and azithromycin, ceftriaxone, lopinavir and tocilizumab.

CONCLUSIONS

The use of HCQ during the Covid-19 pandemic changed its ADRs reporting profile. Of particular concern during the pandemic were arrhythmias, hepatotoxicity, severe skin reactions and suicide, but not ocular disorders. Some signals identified would require more detailed analyses.

Drug-induced fall risk in older patients: A pharmacovigilance study of FDA adverse event reporting system database

Objectives: As fall events and injuries have become a growing public health problem in older patients and the causes of falls are complex, there is an emerging need to identify the risk of drug-induced falls. Methods: To mine and analyze the risk signals of drug-induced falls in older patients to provide evidence for drug safety. The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System was used to collect drug-induced fall events among older patients. Disproportionality analyses of odds ratio (ROR) and proportional reported ratio were performed to detect the adverse effects signal. Results: A total of 208,849 reports (34,840 fall events and 1,898 drugs) were considered. The average age of the included patients was 76.95 ± 7.60 years, and there were more females (64.47%) than males. A total of 258 drugs with positive signals were detected to be associated with drug-induced fall incidence in older patients. The neurological drugs (104, 44.1%) with the largest number of positive detected signals mainly included antipsychotics, antidepressants, antiparkinsonian drugs, central nervous system drugs, anticonvulsants and hypnotic sedatives. Other systems mainly included the circulatory system (25, 10.6%), digestive system (15, 6.4%), and motor system (12, 5.1%). Conclusion: Many drugs were associated with a high risk of falls in older patients. The drug is one of the critical and preventable factors for fall control, and the risk level of drug-induced falls should be considered to optimize drug therapy in clinical practice.

A Disproportionality Analysis of Drug-Drug Interactions of Tizanidine and CYP1A2 Inhibitors from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS)

INTRODUCTION

Tizanidine is primarily metabolized via cytochrome P450 (CYP) 1A2 and therefore medications that inhibit the enzyme will affect the clearance of tizanidine, leading to increased plasma concentrations of tizanidine and potentially serious adverse events.

OBJECTIVES

Our aim was to study the occurrence of adverse events reported in the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) involving the combination of tizanidine and drugs that inhibit the metabolic activity of CYP1A2.

METHODS

A disproportionality analysis of FAERS reports from 2004 quarter 1 through 2020 quarter 3 was conducted to calculate the reporting odds ratio (ROR) of reports mentioning tizanidine in a suspect or interacting role or having any role, a CYP1A2 inhibitor, and the following adverse events: hypotension, bradycardia, syncope, shock, cardiorespiratory arrest, and fall or fracture.

RESULTS

A total of 89 reports were identified mentioning tizanidine, at least one CYP1A2 inhibitor, and one of the adverse events of interest. More than half of the reports identified tizanidine as having a suspect or interacting role (n = 59, 66.3%), and the reports more frequently involved women (n = 58, 65.1%). The median age was 56.1 years (standard deviation 17.1). Some of the important safety signals included interactions between tizanidine in a suspect or interacting role and ciprofloxacin (ROR for hypotension 28.1, 95% confidence interval [CI] 19.2-41.2) or fluvoxamine (ROR for hypotension 36.9, 95% CI 13.1-103.4), and also when reported in "any role" with ciprofloxacin (ROR for hypotension 6.3, 95% CI 4.7-8.5), fluvoxamine (ROR for hypotension 11.4, 95% CI 4.5-28.8), and zafirlukast (ROR for falls 16.0, 95% CI 6.1-42.1).

CONCLUSIONS

Reports involving tizanidine and a CYP1A2 inhibitor have higher odds of reporting hypotension. This study suggests that concurrent use of tizanidine with CYP1A2 inhibitors may lead to serious health consequences associated with low blood pressure such as falls and fractures.

Neurological Adverse Events Associated With Esketamine: A Disproportionality Analysis for Signal Detection Leveraging the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System

Esketamine was approved for the treatment of treatment-resistant depression in 2019. After the approval of esketamine, numerous concerns have been raised regarding its long-term safety and tolerability. A previous systematic pharmacovigilance study on esketamine-related adverse events (AEs) was published in 2020; however, it has not been updated 2 years later. The primary aim of this study was to detect and characterize neurological safety signals of esketamine to partially update the knowledge in this field using the FDA pharmacovigilance database. Reporting odds ratio (ROR) was calculated for esketamine-related neurological AEs from 2019 to 2021 with a signal considered when the lower limit of the 95% confidence interval (CI) of ROR (ROR₀₂₅) exceeded one. Severe and non-severe cases were compared using an independent samples t-test or chi-squared (χ2) test, and a rating scale was used to prioritize the signals. The database contained 720 cases of esketamine-associated neurological AEs, with 21 signals detected, ranging from a ROR₀₂₅ of 1.05 (disturbance in attention) to 204.00 (sedation). 16 latest neurological AEs emerged in the second year of marketing approval of esketamine, with eight signals detected. The associations between esketamine and nervous system disorders persisted when stratifying by sex, age, and reporter type, whereas the spectrum of neurological AEs differed in stratification regimens. Esketamine dosage, antidepressant polypharmacy, or co-prescription with benzodiazepines affected AEs severity (t = 2.41, p = 0.017; χ2 = 6.75, p = 0.009; and χ2 = 4.10, p = 0.043; respectively), while age and sex did not (p = 0.053 and p = 0.397, respectively). Three signals were categorized as moderate clinical priority [i.e., sedation, dizziness, and dysgeusia (priority points 7, 5, and 5, respectively)], showing the same early failure type profiles. Notably, seven detected disproportionality signals were not previously detected in clinical trials. Although the majority of results were in line with those obtained in the previous study, there were discrepancies in the spectrum of neurological AEs and the effects of several risk factors on AEs severity among the two studies that should be recognized and managed early in clinical treatments.

Difference in Gastrointestinal Risk Associated with Use of GLP-1 Receptor Agonists: A Real-World Pharmacovigilance Study

BACKGROUND

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) are promising weight-loss drugs, but real-world data concerning the liability of GLP-1RAs in gastrointestinal safety are lacking. We examined the differences in gastrointestinal safety between semaglutide and liraglutide.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We used the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) database and retrieved data during the first three years of semaglutide and liraglutide approved by the FDA. Thirteen main gastrointestinal adverse drug reactions (GADRs) were evaluated. Patient demographics, treatment information, and outcome of events were summarized. Disproportionality analyses were conducted by estimating the reporting odds ratios (RORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

RESULTS

In the reported cases of semaglutide (n = 2047) and liraglutide (n = 4175), semaglutide had a higher pooled ROR and later pooled time-to-onset median of GADRs compared with those of liraglutide (5.53, 95% CI 5.23-5.85 vs 3.95, 95% CI 3.81-4.10; 7 days, Q1-Q3: 0-48 vs 4 days, Q1-Q3: 0-34.5). The thirteen GADRs associated with these two GLP-1RAs showed a significant difference in the profile of reporting risk and time-to-onset.

CONCLUSION

GLP-1RAs produce a spectrum of distinct classes of GADRs. The individual properties of GADRs between semaglutide and liraglutide might enable incretin-based treatment of obesity to be "tailored" to the needs of each patient.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and manic switch: A pharmacovigilance and pharmacodynamical study

BACKGROUND

There is still no approved mechanism of manic switch in bipolar disorder, yet many selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors were accused for this important adverse event. Therefore, we aimed to investigate to estimate SSRI's risk for reporting mania and elevated mood using FEARS database and investigate receptor mechanisms involved.

METHODS

Mania and relevant side effects approved by FDA were screened in this dataset from the first quarter of 2004 to the third quarter of 2020. Disproportionality analysis were performed to estimate reporting odds ratio (ROR) and linear regressions were conducted to investigate relationship between ROR and Ki values. Receptor occupancy ratios were calculated from in vitro receptor binding profiles. The pharmacodynamical profile was extracted from the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology and the British Pharmacology Society dataset. Child and adolescent population was also investigated separately.

RESULTS

The analysis showed that the odds of a spontaneous report of mania in the FAERS database involving an SSRI were higher than the odds that such a report involved other types of drugs (ROR: 5.324 [CI: 3.773; 7.514]). The largest effect size in this estimation was found in fluvoxamine (ROR: 13.957 [CI: 10.391; 18.747]). Significant effects were found in regression analysis for Ki values of H1 and M1 receptors on ROR. Receptor occupation was not found to have an effect on ROR.

CONCLUSION

Lower degress of Ki values on M1 and H1 may be plausible pharmacological mechanism. Further pharmacological data and clinical assessments may be important to validate this safety signal.

Adverse reactions with levamisole vary according to its indications and misuse: a systematic pharmacovigilance study

AIM

Levamisole was initially prescribed for the treatment of intestinal worms. Because of immunomodulatory properties, levamisole has been used in inflammatory pathologies and in cancers in association with 5-fluorouracil. Levamisole is misused as a cocaine adulterant. Post-marketing reports have implicated levamisole in the occurrence of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and its use is now limited in Europe and North America. In contrast, all other parts of the World continue to use single-dose as an anthelmintic. The aim of this study was to identify ADRs reported after levamisole exposure in VigiBase, the WHO's pharmacovigilance database, and analyze their frequency compared to other drugs and according to levamisole type of use.

METHODS

All levamisole-related ADRs were extracted from VigiBase®. Disproportionality analyses were conducted to investigate psychiatric, hepatobiliary, renal, vascular, nervous, blood, skin, cardiac, musculoskeletal and general ADRs associated with levamisole and other drugs exposure. In secondary analyses, we compared the frequency of ADRs between levamisole and mebendazole and between levamisole type of use.

RESULTS

Among the 1763 levamisole-related ADRs identified, psychiatric disorders (Reporting Odds-Ratio with 95% confidence intervals: 1.4 [1.2-2.6]), hepatobiliary disorders (2.4 [1.9-4.3]), vasculitis (6.5 [4.1-10.6]), encephalopathy (22.5 [17.4-39.9]), neuropathy (4.3 [2.9-7.1]), hematological disorders, mild rashes and musculoskeletal disorders were more frequently reported with levamisole than with other drug. The majority of levamisole-related ADRs occurred when the drug was administrated for a non-anti-infectious indication.

CONCLUSION

The great majority of the levamisole-related ADRs concerned its immunomodulatory indication and multiple doses regimen. Our results suggest that single-dose treatments for anthelmintic action have a good safety profile.

Serious adverse reactions associated with ivermectin: A systematic pharmacovigilance study in sub-Saharan Africa and in the rest of the World

BACKGROUND

Ivermectin is known to cause severe encephalopathies in subjects infected with loiasis, an endemic parasite in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In addition, case reports have described ivermectin-related serious adverse drug reactions (sADRs) such as toxidermias, hepatic and renal disorders. The aim of this study was to identify suspected sADRs reported after ivermectin administration in VigiBase, the World Health Organization's global individual case safety reports database and analyze their frequency relative to the frequency of these events after other antinematodal drugs reported in SSA and other areas of the world (ROW).

METHODS

All antinematodal-related sADRs were extracted from VigiBase. Disproportionality analyses were conducted to investigate nervous, cutaneous, psychiatric, respiratory, renal, hepatic and cardiac suspected sADRs reported after ivermectin and benzimidazole drug administration across the world, in SSA and RoW.

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

2041 post-ivermectin or post-benzimidazole suspected sADRs were identified including 667 after ivermectin exposure (208 in SSA and 459 in the RoW). We found an increased reporting for toxidermias, encephalopathies, confusional disorders after ivermectin compared to benzimidazole drug administration. Encephalopathies were not only reported from SSA but also from the RoW (adjusted reporting odds ratios [aROR] 6.30, 95% confidence interval: 2.68-14.8), highlighting the fact these types of sADR occur outside loiasis endemic regions.

CONCLUSION

We described for the first time suspected sADRs associated with ivermectin exposure according to geographical origin. While our results do not put in question ivermectin's excellent safety profile, they show that as for all drugs, appropriate pharmacovigilance for adverse reactions is indicated.

Adverse drug reaction risks obtained from meta-analyses and pharmacovigilance disproportionality analyses are correlated in most cases

OBJECTIVE

We aimed at testing if a correlation between adverse drug reactions relative risks estimated from meta-analyses and disproportionality analyses calculated from pharmacovigilance spontaneous reporting systems databases exist, and if methodological choices modify this correlation.

STUDY DESIGN

We extracted adverse drug reactions (ADR) odds ratios (ORs) from meta-analyses used as reference and calculated corresponding Reporting Odds Ratios (RORs) from the WHO pharmacovigilance database according to five different designs. We also calculated the relative bias and agreement of ROR compared to ORs.

RESULTS

We selected five meta-analyses which displayed a panel of 13 ADRs. A significant correlation for 7 out of the 13 ADRs studied in the primary analysis was found. The methods for ROR calculation impacted the results but none systematically improved the correlations. Whereas correlation was found between OR and ROR, agreement was poor and relative bias was important.

CONCLUSION

Despite the large variation in disproportionality analyses results due to design specification, this study provides further evidence that relative risks obtained from meta-analyses and from disproportionality analyses correlate in most cases, in particular for objective ADR not associated with the underlying pathology.

Lessons to be Learnt from Real-World Studies on Immune-Related Adverse Events with Checkpoint Inhibitors: A Clinical Perspective from Pharmacovigilance

The advent of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) caused a paradigm shift both in drug development and clinical practice; however, by virtue of their mechanism of action, the excessively activated immune system results in a multitude of off-target toxicities, the so-called immune-related adverse events (irAEs), requiring new skills for timely diagnosis and a multidisciplinary approach to successfully manage the patients. In the recent past, a plethora of large-scale pharmacovigilance analyses have characterized various irAEs in terms of spectrum and clinical features in the real world. This review aims to summarize and critically appraise the current landscape of pharmacovigilance studies, thus deriving take-home messages for oncologists. A brief primer to study design, conduction, and data interpretation is also offered. As of February 2020, 30 real-world postmarketing studies have characterized multiple irAEs through international spontaneous reporting systems, namely WHO Vigibase and the US FDA Adverse Event Reporting System. The majority of studies investigated a single irAE and provided new epidemiological evidence about class-specific patterns of irAEs (i.e. anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 [CTLA-4] versus anti-programmed cell death 1 [PD-1] receptor, and its ligand [PD-L1]), kinetics of appearance, co-occurrences (overlap) among irAEs, and fatality rate. Oncologists should be aware of both strengths and limitations of these pharmacovigilance analyses, especially in terms of data interpretation. Optimal management (including rechallenge), predictivity of irAEs (as potential biomarkers of effectiveness), and comparative safety of ICIs (also in terms of combination regimens) represent key research priorities for next-generation real-world studies.

Antidepressants and movement disorders: a postmarketing study in the world pharmacovigilance database

BACKGROUND

Antidepressants-induced movement disorders are rare and imperfectly known adverse drug reactions. The risk may differ between different antidepressants and antidepressants' classes. The objective of this study was to assess the putative association of each antidepressant and antidepressants' classes with movement disorders.

METHODS

Using VigiBase®, the WHO Pharmacovigilance database, disproportionality of movement disorders' reporting was assessed among adverse drug reactions related to any antidepressant, from January 1967 to February 2017, through a case/non-case design. The association between nine subtypes of movement disorders (akathisia, bruxism, dystonia, myoclonus, parkinsonism, restless legs syndrome, tardive dyskinesia, tics, tremor) and antidepressants was estimated through the calculation first of crude Reporting Odds Ratio (ROR), then adjusted ROR on four potential confounding factors: age, sex, drugs described as able to induce movement disorders, and drugs used to treat movement disorders.

RESULTS

Out of the 14,270,446 reports included in VigiBase®, 1,027,405 (7.2%) contained at least one antidepressant, among whom 29,253 (2.8%) reported movement disorders. The female/male sex ratio was 2.15 and the mean age 50.9 ± 18.0 years. We found a significant increased ROR for antidepressants in general for all subtypes of movement disorders, with the highest association with bruxism (ROR 10.37, 95% CI 9.62-11.17) and the lowest with tics (ROR 1.49, 95% CI 1.38-1.60). When comparing each of the classes of antidepressants with the others, a significant association was observed for all subtypes of movement disorders except restless legs syndrome with serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) only. Among antidepressants, mirtazapine, vortioxetine, amoxapine, phenelzine, tryptophan and fluvoxamine were associated with the highest level to movement disorders and citalopram, paroxetine, duloxetine and mirtazapine were the most frequently associated with movement disorders. An association was also found with eight other antidepressants.

CONCLUSIONS

A potential harmful association was found between movement disorders and use of the antidepressants mirtazapine, vortioxetine, amoxapine, phenelzine, tryptophan, fluvoxamine, citalopram, paroxetine, duloxetine, bupropion, clomipramine, escitalopram, fluoxetine, mianserin, sertraline, venlafaxine and vilazodone. Clinicians should beware of these adverse effects and monitor early warning signs carefully. However, this observational study must be interpreted as an exploratory analysis, and these results should be refined by future epidemiological studies.

Incretin-based drugs and intestinal obstruction: A pharmacovigilance study

AIMS

To investigate the risk of intestinal obstruction associated with incretin-based drugs by performing a disproportionality analysis of adverse reaction reports in a global pharmacovigilance database.

METHODS

We conducted a case/non-case analysis using VigiBase, the World Health Organization's adverse drug reactions (ADR) database, to assess intestinal obstruction reporting associated with incretin-based drugs (glucagon-like peptide 1 analogues [GLP-1a] and dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors [DPP-4i]. Cases were defined as reports of gastrointestinal stenosis and obstruction (MedDRA High Level Group Term) and non-cases were all other reactions recorded. Disproportionality analysis were performed by computing reporting odds ratios (ROR) with their 95% confidence interval (95%CI) within all ADR reports concerning diabetes drugs from January 2007 to January 2018 and in a restricted sample including only serious reports.

RESULTS

A total of 501,244 ADR with diabetes drugs were reported in VigiBase during the study period. We identified 452 intestinal obstructions involving an incretin-based drug. In disproportionality analyses, intestinal obstructions were more than 4.5 times more frequently reported with incretin-based drugs than with other diabetes drugs (ROR 4.52, 95% CI: 3.87-5.28) with a higher signal for serious cases and for DPP-4i (ROR 8.66, 95% CI: 7.27-10.32) compared to GLP-1a (ROR 3.05, 95% CI: 2.54-3.66).

CONCLUSIONS

We identified a pharmacovigilance signal that suggests a risk of potentially serious intestinal obstruction associated with incretin-based drugs, as a class and with a greater signal for DPP4-i. Other studies are needed to confirm and better understand the potential risk of intestinal obstruction associated with incretin-based drugs.

Bullous pemphigoid associated with the use of dipeptidil peptidase-4 inhibitors: analysis from studies based on pharmacovigilance databases

Background Bullous pemphigoid has been associated to dipeptidase-4 inhibitors. Objectives Addressing the potential Bullous pemphigoid-dipeptidase-4 inhibitors association based on pharmacovigilance data currently available in Spain in order to obtain a composite disproportionality estimator from all the data generated by the case-non case studies conducted to this date. Setting The Spanish Pharmacovigilance System for Human Use Drugs database. Method Case-non case study based on the Spanish Pharmacovigilance System for Human Use Drugs notifications submitted between 2007 and 2018 (n = 169,280), using the Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities term (Preferred Term) 'pemphigoid' for sitagliptin, vildagliptin, saxagliptin, linagliptin, and alogliptin (n = 1952). As negative control, we used acetaminophen, while furosemide was the positive control. A pooled reported odds ratio analysis in the French, Japanese, and Spanish national pharmacovigilance databases was performed. On The Spanish Pharmacovigilance System for Human Use Drugs, we conducted a bullous pemphigoid-metformin association analysis within the period 1982-2018. Main outcome measure Adverse reaction cases in pharmacovigilance databases and the disproportionality through the reporting odds ratio. Results Within The Spanish Pharmacovigilance System for Human Use Drugs, we found 45 cases of bullous pemphigoid in dipeptidase-4 inhibitors patients. Median age was 77 years (range 72-82). The median latency period was 7 months (range 0.23-86). The Bullous pemphigoid-dipeptidase-4 inhibitors association was established with a reporting odd ratio = 70.0 (95% confidence intervals 49.1-10.1). In the combined analysis of the three aforementioned pharmacovigilance databases, the pooled reporting odd ratio was 81.0 (95% confidence intervals 69.5-94.4). Conclusion The composite estimator for the three national pharmacovigilance databases yields clear evidence of a Bullous pemphigoid-dipeptidase-4 inhibitors association, which was statistically significant for both the pharmacological class as a whole and each of the dipeptidase-4 inhibitors agents under investigation. Metformin's role in the incidence of bullous pemphigoid appeared casual rather than causal. No differences between Caucasian and Asian populations were noted.

Adverse Drug Reaction Risk Measures: A Comparison of Estimates from Drug Surveillance and Randomised Trials

BACKGROUND

Most drug regulatory agencies and pharmaceutical companies hold databases of spontaneous reports of suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs). Detection systems for ADR signals have been created by specialists to analyse such reports, based on the concept of disproportionality, in order to support safety decision making. However, these measures are often misinterpreted by non-specialists in pharmacovigilance.

OBJECTIVES

Our aim was to assess agreement between estimates of risk from spontaneous reports of suspected ADRs and estimates of risks of ADRs from randomised controlled trials (RCTs).

METHODS

From 150 drugs randomly selected from the US Food and Drug Administration's Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS), we identified drugs where FAERS provided reporting odds ratios (RORs) and corresponding systematic reviews from the Cochrane database gave (pooled) odds ratios (ORs) for the same drugs and adverse reactions. We assessed agreement between (ln) RORs and (ln) ORs using the Pearson correlation coefficient and the Bland-Altman agreement method, and performed sensitivity analyses.

RESULTS

We identified 6 drugs and 125 ADRs. Overall, there was a weak correlation (r = 0.20) between RORs (FAERS) and ORs (RCTs). However, we observed a stronger correlation (r = 0.78) between RORs and ORs for one drug (roflumilast) that received market approval relatively recently (2011).

CONCLUSIONS

Spontaneous reporting of suspected ADRs is an important tool for regulatory agencies and pharmaceutical companies in making decisions and detecting drug safety signals. Although there was moderate-to-strong agreement between ADR risk estimates from drug surveillance and RCTs for one drug, this study illustrates the current recommendations not to use disproportionality measures as valid proxies for risk estimates.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension associated with protein kinase inhibitors: a pharmacovigilance-pharmacodynamic study

The pathophysiology of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) induced by protein kinase inhibitors (PKIs) remains unclear. To gain knowledge into this rare and severe pathology we performed a study combining a pharmacovigilance approach and the pharmacodynamic properties of PKIs.A disproportionality analysis on the World Health Organization pharmacovigilance database VigiBase using the reporting odds ratio (ROR) and 95% confidence interval was first performed. Then, we identified the most relevant cellular targets of interest through a systematic literature review and correlated the pharmacovigilance signals with the affinity for the different PKIs. We further performed a hierarchical cluster analysis to assess patterns of binding affinity.A positive disproportionality signal was found for dasatinib, bosutinib, ponatinib, ruxolitinib and nilotinib. Five non-receptor protein kinases significantly correlate with disproportionality signals: c-Src (r=0.79, p=0.00027), c-Yes (r=0.82, p=0.00015), Lck (r=0.81, p=0.00046) and Lyn (r=0.80, p=0.00036), all belonging to the Src protein kinase family, and TEC (r=0.85, p=0.00006). Kinases of the bone morphogenetic protein signalling pathway also seem to play a role in the pathophysiology of PKI-induced PAH. Interestingly, the dasatinib affinity profile seems to be different from that of other PKIs in the cluster analysis.The study highlights the potential role of the Src protein kinase family and TEC in PAH induced by PKIs. This approach combining pharmacovigilance and pharmacodynamics data allowed us to generate some hypotheses about the pathophysiology of the disease; however, the results have to be confirmed by further studies.

Toxicities with Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors: Emerging Priorities From Disproportionality Analysis of the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System

BACKGROUND

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), including antibodies targeting cytotoxic T-lymphocyte associated protein 4 (CTLA4) and programmed cell death 1 or its ligand (PD1/PDL1), elicit different immune-related adverse events (irAEs), but their global safety is incompletely characterized.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to characterize the spectrum, frequency, and clinical features of ICI-related adverse events (AEs) reported to the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

AEs from FAERS (up to June 2018) recording ICIs (ipilimumab, nivolumab, pembrolizumab, atezolizumab, avelumab, durvalumab) as suspect were extracted. Comprehensive disproportionality analyses were performed through the reporting odds ratio (ROR) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI), using other oncological drugs as comparison. An overview of systematic reviews (OoSRs) was also undertaken to identify irAEs with consistent positive associations.

RESULTS

ICIs were recorded in 47,266 reports, submitted mainly by consumers receiving monotherapy with anti-PD1/PDL1 drugs. Three areas of toxicity emerged from both disproportionality analysis and the OoSRs (32 studies): endocrine (N = 2863; ROR = 6.91; 95% CI 6.60-7.23), hepatobiliary (2632; 1.33; 1.28-1.39), and respiratory disorders (7240; 1.04; 1.01-1.06). Different reporting patterns emerged for anti-CTLA4 drugs (e.g., hypophysitis, adrenal insufficiency, hypopituitarism, and prescribed overdose) and anti-PD1/PDL1 agents (e.g., pneumonitis, cholangitis, vanishing bile duct syndrome, tumor pseudoprogression, and inappropriate schedule of drug administration). No increased reporting emerged when comparing combination with monotherapy regimens, but multiple hepatobiliary/endocrine/respiratory irAEs were recorded.

CONCLUSIONS

This parallel approach through contemporary post-marketing analysis and OoSRs confirmed that ICIs are associated with a multitude of irAEs, with different reporting patterns between anti-CTLA4 and anti-PD1/PDL1 medications. Close clinical monitoring is warranted to early diagnose and timely manage irAEs, especially respiratory, endocrine, and hepatic toxicities, which warrant further characterization; patient- and drug-related risk factors should be assessed through analytical pharmaco-epidemiological studies and prospective multicenter registries.

Antipsychotics and cardiovascular risk: A case/non-case study

Severe mental disorders have been reported to be associated with an increased cardiovascular risk. To measure the potential risk excess as compared, not with the baseline cardiovascular risk for the general population, but with the cardiovascular risk associated with drug iatrogenia. 197 reported cases of cardiovascular adverse reaction to antipsychotic drugs as compared to the reported cases of this type of adverse reactions to drugs other than antipsychotics entered in the Spanish Pharmacovigilance System database (FEDRA) (1995-2018) in an observational case/non-case study. Risk estimates of association were reporting odds ratio (ROR), and, chi-square test (χ²). Overall disproportionality for the whole drug class was found [ROR 2.3 (95% CI 2.0-2.7)], χ² = 127.07]. When the two types of antipsychotics (typical and atypical) were analysed separately, we also found statistically significant disproportionality, and this disproportionality is similar between both groups, with disproportionality measures around 2.30, with the confidence intervals not including the 1. The disproportionality observed suggests a risk excess that might be greater than expected, which holds particularly true for torsade de pointes, sudden death and cardiac arrhythmias in patients treated with any of the two types of antipsychotics. There was no significant risk for ischaemic heart disease.

Pleural adverse drugs reactions and protein kinase inhibitors: Identification of suspicious targets by disproportionality analysis from VigiBase

AIMS

To evaluate the risk of pleural disorders (PD) associated with 33 protein kinase (PK) inhibitors (PKIs) through a disproportionality analysis and to identify which PKs and pathways are involved in PKI-induced PD.

METHODS

To evaluate the risk of PD, reporting odds ratios (RORs) were calculated for 33 PKIs through data registered in the World Health Organization safety report database (VigiBase). We undertook a literature review to identify PKs that were possibly involved in PD caused by PKIs. Pearson correlation coefficients (r) between RORs and affinity data of 19 PKIs were calculated to identify the cellular target most likely to be involved in PKI-induced PD.

RESULTS

A total of 235 110 individual case safety reports were extracted from the database for 33 available PKIs. Among these reports, 5001 concerned PD (2.1%). Significant and positive disproportionality for PD was found for 29 of 33 PKI included in our study with top values for dasatinib [ROR = 115.3; 95% confidence interval (CI): 110.1-120.8], bosutinib (ROR = 20.4; 95% CI: 15.8-26.4) and ponatinib (ROR = 12; 95% CI: 9.2-15.6). Correlation analyses between the product of dissociation constant and ROR highlighted possibly Lyn involvement in PD with PKI (r = 0.73, P = 0.0004).

CONCLUSIONS

Our study showed that 28 of the 33 tested PKIs were associated with PD. Besides, the study highlighted the role of Lyn in PD caused by PKIs through an immune-mediated process.

Adverse Events to Food Supplements Containing Red Yeast Rice: Comparative Analysis of FAERS and CAERS Reporting Systems

INTRODUCTION

Food supplements containing red yeast rice (RYR) are proposed as an alternative in statin-intolerant patients, although they actually contain natural statin(s) and their safety in clinical practice is still incompletely characterized. We described and compared adverse events (AEs) associated with RYR products submitted to reporting systems maintained by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), with a focus on liver and muscular events.

METHODS

We extracted RYR-related AEs from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) [first quarter (Q1)-2004 to Q2-2016], a drug-based archive, and the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition Adverse Event Reporting System (CAERS) (Q1-2004 to Q1-2017). Disproportionality via reporting odds ratio (ROR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) calculation and case-by-case inspection were performed, with a focus on muscular and hepatic AEs.

RESULTS

One thousand three hundred AEs were extracted from FAERS (RYR mainly reported as a concomitant agent), whereas only 159 AEs were found in CAERS (RYR recorded mainly as a suspect agent). In FAERS, a large number of reports emerged for "general disorders and administration site conditions," whereas CAERS received also a high number of reports for "investigations" and "musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders". Disproportionality analyses confirmed higher reporting of serious muscular and liver injuries: in FAERS, five cases of hepatic disorders (ROR = 13.71; 95% CI 5.44-34.57); in CAERS, 27 cases of rhabdomyolysis/myopathy (8.44; 5.44-13.10).

CONCLUSIONS

Notwithstanding recognized limitations, these findings strengthen the importance of exploring multiple databases in safety assessment of RYR products, which should be monitored by clinicians for muscular and hepatic safety, and call for urgent review by policymakers to harmonize their regulatory status.

Detecting a potential safety signal of antidepressants and type 2 diabetes: a pharmacovigilance-pharmacodynamic study

AIMS

Recent data suggest that antidepressants are associated with incident diabetes but the possible pharmacological mechanism is still questioned. The aim of the present study was to evaluate antidepressant's risk for reporting diabetes using disproportionality analysis of the FDA adverse events spontaneous reporting system (FAERS) database and to investigate possible receptor/transporter mechanisms involved.

METHODS

Data from 2004 to 2017 were analysed using OpenVigil2 and adjusted reporting odds ratio (aROR) for reporting diabetes was calculated for 22 antidepressants. Events included in the narrow scope of the SMQ 'hyperglycaemia/new-onset diabetes mellitus' were defined as cases and all the other events as non-cases. The pharmacodynamic profile was extracted using the PDSP and IUPHAR/BPS databases and the occupancy on receptors (serotonin, alpha adrenoreceptors, dopamine, muscarinic, histamine) and transporters (SERT, NET, DAT) was estimated. The relationship between aROR for diabetes and receptor occupancy was investigated with Pearson's correlation coefficient (r) and univariate linear regression.

RESULTS

Six antidepressants were associated with diabetes: nortriptyline with aROR [95% CI] of 2.01 [1.41-2.87], doxepin 1.97 [1.31-2.97], imipramine 1.82 [1.09-3.06], sertraline 1.47 [1.29-1.68], mirtazapine 1.33 [1.04-1.69] and amitriptyline 1.31 [1.09-1.59]. Strong positive correlation coefficients between occupancy and aROR for diabetes were identified for the receptors M₁ , M₃ , M₄ , M₅ and H₁ .

CONCLUSION

Most of the tricyclic antidepressants, mirtazapine and sertraline seem to be associated with reporting diabetes in FAERS. Higher degrees of occupancy on muscarinic receptors and H₁ may be a plausible pharmacological mechanism. Further clinical assessment and pharmacovigilance data is needed to validate this potential safety signal.

Pharmacovigilance of sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors: What a clinician should know on disproportionality analysis of spontaneous reporting systems

Sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2-Is) have consistently demonstrated a clinically significant reduction of cardiovascular mortality. However, their safety in clinical practice is still incompletely characterized, and post-marketing monitoring is required considering the expected increase in clinical use. Different analyses of international spontaneous reporting systems, known as disproportionality analyses (DAs), have highlighted the occurrence of ketoacidosis, amputations, acute renal failure and skin toxicity. In this viewpoint, we critically appraise these pharmacovigilance data on SGLT2-Is, with the aim of supporting clinicians in proper interpretation of these studies, and discussing their risk-benefit profile. To this aim, we offer a broad perspective on basic technical aspects subtending DAs of spontaneous reporting databases (describing peculiarities of the Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System), their common and evolving uses, key pitfalls in presenting study results (in terms of "risk" or "association") and relevant strategies to account for major confounders. This will also facilitate reviewers and editors in proper evaluation of DAs, and prompt pharmacovigilance experts in converging towards a set of minimum requirements in standardization of design, performance and reporting of DAs. A consensus on quality assessment of DAs will finally establish their transferability to clinical practice. It is anticipated that DAs cannot be used per se as a standalone approach to assess a drug-related risk and cannot replace clinical judgment in the individual patient.

Comparative Safety of Drugs Targeting the Nitric Oxide Pathway in Pulmonary Hypertension: A Mixed Approach Combining a Meta-Analysis of Clinical Trials and a Disproportionality Analysis From the World Health Organization Pharmacovigilance Database

BACKGROUND

Recent guidelines recommend riociguat, a soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) stimulator, and the type 5 phosphodiesterase inhibitor (PDE5i) tadalafil or sildenafil as treatments for pulmonary arterial hypertension. We compared the safety profiles of sildenafil, tadalafil, and riociguat in pulmonary hypertension.

METHODS

We combined two approaches. First, we performed a meta-analysis of safety data extracted from randomized controlled trials. Second, we conducted a disproportionality analysis of data from VigiBase, the World Health Organization's global database of individual case safety reports, to compare the safety profiles with real-life data.

RESULTS

In the meta-analysis, a significant difference between the three drugs was only detected for gastrointestinal disorders, in disfavor of riociguat (P < .01 for interaction). In the disproportionality analysis, the use of riociguat was associated with fewer reports of visual disorders but increased reporting of gastrointestinal, hemorrhagic, and musculoskeletal disorders compared with sildenafil and tadalafil. Pharmacovigilance signals of hearing/vestibular disorders were heterogeneous: vestibular disorders (dizziness) were reported more frequently for riociguat, whereas hearing disorders (deafness) were reported less frequently compared with PDE5is.

CONCLUSIONS

The safety profiles of PDE5is and sGC stimulators significantly differ in pulmonary hypertension. Accordingly, there is a safety rationale in switching between PDE5is and sGC stimulators because of their different side effects.

TRIAL REGISTRY

PROSPERO; No.: CRD42016051986; URL: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/.

Identification of cellular targets involved in cardiac failure caused by PKI in oncology: an approach combining pharmacovigilance and pharmacodynamics

AIMS

The aims of the present study were to evaluate the risk of cardiac failure (CF) associated with 15 anticancer protein kinase inhibitors (PKIs) through a case/noncase analysis and to identify which PK(s) and pathways are involved in PKI-induced CF.

METHODS

In order to evaluate the risk of CF, adjusted reporting odds ratios (aRORs) were calculated for the 15 anticancer PKIs in the World Health Organization safety report database (VigiBase®). We realised a literature review to identify 21 protein kinases (PKs) that were possibly involved in CF caused by PKIs. Pearson correlation coefficients (r) between aRORs and affinity data of the 15 PKIs for the 21 PKs were calculated to identify the cellular target most likely to be involved in PKI-induced CF.

RESULTS

A total of 141 601 individual case safety reports (ICSRs) were extracted from VigiBase® for the following PKIs: afatinib, axitinib, bosutinib, crizotinib, dasatinib, erlotinib, gefitinib, imatinib, lapatinib, nilotinib, pazopanib, ruxolitinib, sorafenib, sunitinib and vandetanib. Among them, 2594 ICSRs concerned CF. The disproportionality analysis revealed that, for dasatinib, imatinib, bosutinib, sunitinib and nilotinib, disproportionality for CF was significantly higher than for other PKIs, with aRORs of 2.52 [95% CI 2.26, 2.82], 1.79 (95% CI 1.57, 2.03), 1.73 (95% CI 1.18, 2.54), 1.67 (95% CI 1.51, 1.84) and 1.38 (95% CI 1.18, 1.61), respectively. Significant values for correlation coefficients between the product of dissociation constant (pKd) and aROR were observed for two non-receptor protein kinases: ABL1 (non-phosphorylated and phosphorylated forms) and ABL2 protein kinases, with values of r = 0.83 (P = 0.0001), r = 0.75 (P = 0.0014) and r = 0.78 (P = 0.0006), respectively.

CONCLUSION

We observed a higher disproportionality for CF with dasatinib, imatinib, bosutinib, sunitinib and nilotinib than with other PKIs. In addition, the study highlighted the role of ABL tyrosine kinases in CF caused by anticancer PKIs.

Good Signal Detection Practices: Evidence from IMI PROTECT

Over a period of 5 years, the Innovative Medicines Initiative PROTECT (Pharmacoepidemiological Research on Outcomes of Therapeutics by a European ConsorTium) project has addressed key research questions relevant to the science of safety signal detection. The results of studies conducted into quantitative signal detection in spontaneous reporting, clinical trial and electronic health records databases are summarised and 39 recommendations have been formulated, many based on comparative analyses across a range of databases (e.g. regulatory, pharmaceutical company). The recommendations point to pragmatic steps that those working in the pharmacovigilance community can take to improve signal detection practices, whether in a national or international agency or in a pharmaceutical company setting. PROTECT has also pointed to areas of potentially fruitful future research and some areas where further effort is likely to yield less.

Revisiting the reported signal of acute pancreatitis with rasburicase: an object lesson in pharmacovigilance

INTRODUCTION

There is an interest in methodologies to expeditiously detect credible signals of drug-induced pancreatitis. An example is the reported signal of pancreatitis with rasburicase emerging from a study [the 'index publication' (IP)] combining quantitative signal detection findings from a spontaneous reporting system (SRS) and electronic health records (EHRs). The signal was reportedly supported by a clinical review with a case series manuscript in progress. The reported signal is noteworthy, being initially classified as a false-positive finding for the chosen reference standard, but reclassified as a 'clinically supported' signal.

OBJECTIVE

This paper has dual objectives: to revisit the signal of rasburicase and acute pancreatitis and extend the original analysis via reexamination of its findings, in light of more contemporary data; and to motivate discussions on key issues in signal detection and evaluation, including recent findings from a major international pharmacovigilance research initiative.

METHODOLOGY

We used the same methodology as the IP, including the same disproportionality analysis software/dataset for calculating observed to expected reporting frequencies (O/Es), Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities Preferred Term, and O/E metric/threshold combination defining a signal of disproportionate reporting. Baseline analysis results prompted supplementary analyses using alternative analytical choices. We performed a comprehensive literature search to identify additional published case reports of rasburicase and pancreatitis.

RESULTS

We could not replicate positive findings (e.g. a signal or statistic of disproportionate reporting) from the SRS data using the same algorithm, software, dataset and vendor specified in the IP. The reporting association was statistically highlighted in default and supplemental analysis when more sensitive forms of disproportionality analysis were used. Two of three reports in the FAERS database were assessed as likely duplicate reports. We did not identify any additional reports in the FAERS corresponding to the three cases identified in the IP using EHRs. We did not identify additional published reports of pancreatitis associated with rasburicase.

DISCUSSION

Our exercise stimulated interesting discussions of key points in signal detection and evaluation, including causality assessment, signal detection algorithm performance, pharmacovigilance terminology, duplicate reporting, mechanisms for communicating signals, the structure of the FAERs database, and recent results from a major international pharmacovigilance research initiative.