DRUG DANGERS AND REACTIONS

The protection of the consumer against dangerous, adulterated, and misbranded drugs provided by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act has failed in some instances. A general program of reporting adverse drug reactions has been initiated on a pilot basis. Arrangements are being made to extend this program into larger hospitals. Better and more complete reporting of adverse drug reactions together with tightening of the Food and Drug law regarding new drugs will improve this situation.Recently the president of the National Academy of Sciences appointed a committee at the request of the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to review the policies and procedures used by the Food and Drug Administration in reaching decisions and to present recommendations. This committee has completed its work and has made specific recommendations that would give the Food and Drug Administration authority to require proof of efficacy as well as safety of all new drugs, and would provide it with sufficient resources to meet the responsibilities assigned to it.     

Drug surveillance data in a Canadian hospital.

Comparison of results of a Canadian hospital-based drug surveillance program with data from centres in the United States and Israel showed no important difference in the rate of drug exposures or adverse reactions. Drugs for symptomatic relief were frequently used in the Canadian centre. Women received more drugs and had more adverse reactions than men. Life-threatening and potentially fatal reactions were caused by commonly used drugs; autopsy findings may detect previously unsuspected relations between drug events and mechanisms of death. Voluntary reporting and intensive monitoring are both important in the field of adverse drug reactions.     

A bayesian recurrent neural network for unsupervised pattern recognition in large incomplete data sets

A recurrent neural network, modified to handle highly incomplete training data is described. Unsupervised pattern recognition is demonstrated in the WHO database of adverse drug reactions. Comparison is made to a well established method, AutoClass, and the performances of both methods is investigated on simulated data. The neural network method performs comparably to AutoClass in simulated data, and better than AutoClass in real world data. With its better scaling properties, the neural network is a promising tool for unsupervised pattern recognition in huge databases of incomplete observations.     

Admissions to Hospital due to Drugs

In a survey of adverse drug reactions in wards of two Belfast hospitals for 52 weeks in 1965–6, 2·9% of 1,268 patients seen were admitted to hospital because of adverse reactions to drugs taken for therapeutic reasons and 2·1% were admitted because of self-poisoning. Patients admitted because of adverse drug reactions were older than those admitted because of self-poisoning and stayed in hospital longer. Among the drugs which caused the adverse reactions were digitalis preparations, antibiotics, corticosteroids, anticoagulants, analgesics, and tranquillizers. Hypersensitivity and side-effect types of reactions were the most common. Barbiturates were the most frequently used drugs in suicidal attempts.     

本体OAE对我国上市疫苗相关不良反应表征研究的可行性分析

从广义上来说,疫苗也是一种药物。由于疫苗是接种到成千上万的健康人群用来预防各类传染性疾病,因此对其安全性的要求要比传统药物更高。保证上市疫苗的安全性可以增强广大民众对疫苗的信心,提高疫苗接种的接受度和普及度,进而实现巨大的社会医疗经济效益。当前,我国疫苗年使用量超过世界任何一个国家或地区,但是受制于数据来源匮乏、研究方法缺失等客观因素,我国关于上市疫苗安全性及其相关不良反应的分析研究明显滞后与不足。本文,我们系统地介绍了时下不良反应研究领域热门的数据标准化与整合工具不良反应本体OAE及其在疫苗不良反应研究中的进展情况,并探讨将其引入到我国疫苗相关不良反应报告体系中的可行性,这将为未来我国上市疫苗安全监督体制的完善及后续科研分析带来极大的促进作用。     

Patients as a direct source of information on adverse drug reactions.

To determine whether patients should participate directly in detecting adverse reactions to drugs their ability to provide written reports of symptoms experienced during treatment with amoxycillin or trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole was investigated. When compared with telephone interviews forms on which patients reported events were reliable (the observed agreement with the same statements posed during telephone calls was 85%, kappa = 0.56) and valid (sensitivity = 54%, specificity = 94%). Patients were also supplied with forms that invited them to report adverse reactions, and their perceptions were compared with those of a panel of experts, who were informed of all clinical events that had been reported during the detailed telephone interviews. Patients were more conservative than the experts in attributing clinical events to drug treatment. The extent of agreement varied and was notably poor for skin and bowel complaints (kappa = 0.13 in each case). The performance of event report forms and reaction report forms as instruments of detection was compared in a hypothetical situation in which the experts'' views represented the "truth" about adverse reactions to a new drug. Event reporting had a higher sensitivity than reaction reporting (42% v 24%) but a lower specificity (58% v 98%). National centres monitoring adverse drug reactions should probably resist pressure to accept reports of reactions directly from the public, but a system based on large scale reporting of events might be valuable in aiding the early detection of symptomatic reactions to new drugs.     

Bias in Spontaneous Reporting of Adverse Drug Reactions in Japan

Background

Attitudes of healthcare professionals regarding spontaneous reporting of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in Japan are not well known, and Japan’s unique system of surveillance, called early post-marketing phase vigilance (EPPV), may affect these reporting attitudes. Our objectives were to describe potential effects of EPPV and to test whether ADR seriousness, prominence, and frequency are related to changes in reporting over time.

Methods

A manufacturer’s database of spontaneous ADR reports was used to extract data from individual case safety reports for 5 drugs subject to EPPV. The trend of reporting and the time lag between ADR onset and reporting to the manufacturer were examined. The following indices for ADRs occurring with each drug were calculated and analyzed to assess reporting trends: Serious:Non-serious ratio, High prominence:Low prominence ratio, and High frequency:Low frequency ratio.

Results

For all 5 drugs, the time lag between ADR onset and reporting to the manufacturer was shorter in the EPPV period than in the post-EPPV period. All drugs showed higher Serious:Non-serious ratios in the post-EPPV period. No specific patterns were observed for the High prominence:Low prominence ratio. The High frequency:Low frequency ratio for peginterferon alpha-2a and sevelamer hydrochloride decreased steadily throughout the study period.

Conclusions

Healthcare professionals may be more likely to report serious ADRs than to report non-serious ADRs, but the effect of event prominence on reporting trends is still unclear. Factors associated with ADR reporting attitude in Japan might be different from those in other countries because of EPPV and the involvement of medical representatives in the spontaneous reporting process. Pharmacovigilance specialists should therefore be cautious when comparing data between different time periods or different countries. Further studies are needed to elucidate the underlying mechanism of spontaneous ADR reporting in Japan.     

双膦酸盐类药物致不良反应回顾性分析

目的:分析双膦酸盐类药物所致不良反应情况。方法:检索中国期刊全文数据库(CNKI)、万方数据库(Wan Fang)、中文科技期刊数据库(VIP)2004年1月至2013年8月国内有关双膦酸盐致不良反应的个案报道,按年龄、性别、原发病、药物名称、给药途径、不良反应发生时间、临床表现症状、治疗与转归等进行分类统计分析。结果:48例不良反应包括运动系统、消化系统、感官系统、循环系统、神经系统及全身性损害,高年龄段与女性发生率较高。结论:临床上应重视双膦酸盐类药物所致不良反应,坚持合理用药。     

Determination of amphetamine,methamphetamine and amphetamine-derived designer drugs or medicaments in blood and urine

This paper reviews procedures for the determination of amphetamine, methamphetamine and amphetamine-derived designer drugs or medicaments in blood and urine. Papers published from 1991 to early 1997 were taken into consideration. Gas chromatographic and liquid chromatographic procedures with different detectors (e.g., mass spectrometer or diode array) were considered as well as the seldom used thin-layer chromatography and capillary electrophoresis. Enantioselective procedures are also discussed. A chapter deals with amphetamine-derived medicaments, e.g. anoretics, antiparkinsonians or vasodilators, which are metabolized to amphetamine or methamphetamine. Differentiation of an intake of such medicaments from amphetamine or methamphetamine intake is discussed. Basic information about the biosample assayed, internal standard, work-up, GC column or LC column and mobile phase, detection mode, reference data and validation data of each procedure is summarized in Tables. Examples of typical applications are presented.     

Adverse effects associated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and tricyclic antidepressants: a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: The use of antidepressant medications and the resulting costs have increased dramatically in recent years, partly because of the introduction of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). An assessment of the clinical and economic aspects of SSRIs compared with the older tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) was initiated to generate information for purchasers of these drugs as well as clinicians. One component of this study was an examination of the adverse effects associated with the use of these drugs. METHODS: Searches of bibliographic databases (for January 1980 through May 1996) and manual scanning of both peer-reviewed publications and other documents were used to identify double-blind, randomized controlled trials involving at least one SSRI and one TCA. For the study of adverse effects, only trials that had at least 20 patients in each trial arm and that reported rates of adverse effects in both arms were retained. In total 84 trials reporting on 18 adverse effects were available. Meta-analyses were undertaken to calculate pooled differences in rates of adverse effects. The question of whether the method of eliciting information from patients about adverse effects made a difference in the findings was also examined. Finally, differences in drop-out rates due to adverse effects were calculated. RESULTS: The crude rates of occurrence of adverse effects ranged from 4% (palpitations) to 26% (nausea) for SSRIs and from 4% (diarrhea) to 27% (dry mouth) for TCAs. The differences in the rates of adverse effects between the 2 types of drugs ranged from 14% more with SSRIs (for nausea) to 11% more with TCAs (for constipation). The results did not depend on the method of eliciting information from patients. There were no statistically significant differences between drug classes in terms of drop-outs due to adverse effects. INTERPRETATION: SSRIs and TCAs are both associated with adverse effects, although the key effects differ between the drug classes. Further explanation of the adverse effects and their relation to discontinuation of medication will require better studies involving prospective collection of quality-of-life data.     

The Role of Systematic Reviews in Pharmacovigilance Planning and Clinical Trials Authorisation Application: Example from the SLEEPS Trial

Background

Adequate sedation is crucial to the management of children requiring assisted ventilation on Paediatric Intensive Care Units (PICU). The evidence-base of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in this area is small and a trial was planned to compare midazolam and clonidine, two sedatives widely used within PICUs neither of which being licensed for that use. The application to obtain a Clinical Trials Authorisation from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) required a dossier summarising the safety profiles of each drug and the pharmacovigilance plan for the trial needed to be determined by this information. A systematic review was undertaken to identify reports relating to the safety of each drug.

Methodology/Principal Findings

The Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) were obtained for each sedative. The MHRA were requested to provide reports relating to the use of each drug as a sedative in children under the age of 16. Medline was searched to identify RCTs, controlled clinical trials, observational studies, case reports and series. 288 abstracts were identified for midazolam and 16 for clonidine with full texts obtained for 80 and 6 articles respectively. Thirty-three studies provided data for midazolam and two for clonidine. The majority of data has come from observational studies and case reports. The MHRA provided details of 10 and 3 reports of suspected adverse drug reactions.

Conclusions/Significance

No adverse reactions were identified in addition to those specified within the SmPC for the licensed use of the drugs. Based on this information and the wide spread use of both sedatives in routine practice the pharmacovigilance plan was restricted to adverse reactions. The Clinical Trials Authorisation was granted based on the data presented in the SmPC and the pharmacovigilance plan within the clinical trial protocol restricting collection and reporting to adverse reactions.     

Recognizing and reporting adverse drug reactions.

Although physicians in practice are most likely to see patients with adverse drug reactions, they may fail to recognize an adverse effect or to attribute it to a drug effect and, when recognized, they may fail to report serious reactions to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). To recognize and attribute an adverse event to a drug effect, physicians should review the patient''s clinical course, looking at patient risk factors, the known adverse reactions to the suspected drug, and the likelihood of a causal relationship between the drug and the adverse event-based on the temporal relationship, response to stopping or restarting the drug, and whether other factors could explain the reaction. Once an adverse drug reaction has been identified, the patient should be informed and appropriate documentation made in the patient''s medical record. Serious known reactions and all reactions to newly released drugs or those not previously known to occur (even if the certainty is low) should be reported to the FDA.     

东莞市预防接种不良反应监测和处理控制系统的建立及评价

为了解东莞市各种疫苗预防接种不良反应的发生情况,建立预防接种不良反应(AEFI)监测和处理控制系统,评价其运行状况,提高预防接种工作质量。根据WHO对AEFI的定义和分类方法,确定了东莞市AEFI报告范围,报告人、报告程序、报告制度以及调查内容和方法,并对该系统2005年收集的AEFI病例进行描述性分析。全市共登记预防接种不良反应560例,其中疫苗反应占了95.36%。男性多于女性。在所使用的26种疫苗中有18种出现不良反应,以Hib和百白破(DPT)的发生率最高,且百白破的报告数最多,占57.5%。在报告的预防接种不良反应中,发热、局部红肿疼痛以及皮疹等过敏性反应占了94.1%。结果认为该系统在评价疫苗的安全性,发现不良反应发生的危险因素,改善预防接种服务质量起着重要作用。     

我国医疗不良事件报告系统研究与应用现状述评

Reporting of medical adverse events is an important measure to prevent recurrence of adverse events and improve the quality of medical care. Through starting with policies about medical adverse event reporting system, existing medical adverse event reporting system is summarized and analyzed, the characteristics and defects are summed up, and the prospect of improving the reporting system of adverse events is made.     

A UK scheme for reporting serious adverse events and reactions associated with ocular tissue transplantation

Reporting and investigation of serious adverse events and reactions associated with tissue and cell transplantation is a fundamental aspect of ensuring adequate levels of safety and quality and is a requirement of the European Union Directives on tissues and cells. In the UK, a system for the reporting and analysis of events and reactions associated with ocular tissue transplantation is well established. It is operated by a network of individuals and organisations, each with clearly defined roles and responsibilities, following written procedures for reporting and investigation. Analysis of reports indicates that the most important adverse reactions associated with this type of tissue transplantation are endophthalmitis (0.58%) and primary graft failure (0.3%). This system allows the analysis of all types of events and reactions by the professionals involved so that trends can be identified and services improved. Tools to evaluate the severity and imputability of individual events or reactions, such as those developed by the EUSTITE project, can be utilised to facilitate the selection of those cases meeting the criteria for reporting to the Competent Authority. This vigilance model has been shown to be effective and could be applied in other fields of tissue or cell transplantation.     

Survey of colourings and preservatives in drugs.

OBJECTIVE--To assess the prevalence of colourings and preservatives in drug formulations in the United Kingdom. DESIGN--Postal survey. PARTICIPANTS--All pharmaceutical manufacturers in the United Kingdom were requested to supply data on drug formulations with particular regard to the content of colourings and preservatives. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE--Prevalence in proprietary drugs of colourings or preservatives, or both, that have been implicated in adverse reactions. Computation of a list of formulations of bronchodilators, antihistamines, and antibiotics that are free of such additives. RESULTS--A total of 118 out of 120 pharmaceutical companies supplied the data requested. In all, 2204 drug formulations were analysed and found to contain 419 different additives, of which 52 were colourings and preservatives that have been implicated in adverse reactions; 930 formulations contained such an additive. Tartrazine was the fourth most commonly occurring colouring, being present in 124 drug formulations. CONCLUSION--Many drugs contain additives that help to identify them and prolong their shelf life but are implicated in adverse reactions in some people. Some form of labelling of drug additives would enable these people to avoid drugs containing such additives.     

Identification of adverse reactions to new drugs. I: What have been the important adverse reactions since thalidomide?

A consensus process was used to establish an agreed list of important adverse reactions to drugs identified since thalidomide. Ten physicians working in medicine in Britain and 10 physicians responsible for drug regulatory agencies in different countries were asked to list 10 important adverse reactions to drugs since thalidomide. From these 20 lists a measure of agreement was apparent. Eighteen important adverse reactions were identified for further study of the discovery processes now operating and of the delays occurring from marketing to alerting, from alerting to verification, and from verification to regulatory action. The results suggest that an empirical review of this type is necessary as a starting point for discussion of better systems to reduce delays in the discovery of adverse reactions to new drugs.     

Antidepressant drugs: imipramine, mianserin and trazodone

The advent of newer antidepressant drugs (second generation) during the past two decades has provided an alternative to the use of tricyclic antidepressants in the alleviation of depression. These antidepressants have not been proven to be superior in the therapy of depression to the tricyclic antidepressants but they have been reported to cause fewer cardiac effects. Most of the reported adverse cardiac reactions elicited by antidepressant drugs are based on observations from clinical studies. The possible underlying mechanisms by which these adverse reactions arise have for the large part been proposed on the basis of clinical findings which have been extrapolated back to the known pharmacological actions of such drugs. There is a paucity of hard experimental data in this respect.