Pharmacovigilance and Adverse Drug Reactions

WHO Monitoring Programme

• The WHO monitoring programme is based in Uppsala and supports the European Pharmacovigilance Research Group.
• The programme plans to extend the use of Bayesian artificial neural networks for analyzing large amounts of data to detect hidden risk factors for drug-related ailments.
• Improvements are also planned for classification systems of traditional herbal remedies and communication in pharmacovigilance.

Pharmacovigilance Methods

• Methods for detecting adverse drug reactions include anecdotal reporting, voluntary organized reporting, intensive event monitoring, cohort studies, case-control studies, case-cohort studies, population statistics, and record linkage.
• Each method has its advantages and disadvantages.

Future Developments

• Clinical pharmacology has a promising future with possibilities of interfering with disease processes at basic and specific levels.
• Knowledge of the human genome will allow prediction of susceptibility to diseases and better understanding of drug-induced disease.
• Genomic developments will enable predictive tests for drug actions, including adverse drug reactions, allowing for more accurate tailoring of therapy.

Importance of Pharmacovigilance

• About half of drug-related injuries are due to potentially avoidable adverse drug reactions.
• It is essential to continue improving pharmacovigilance to reduce drug-related harm.