Welcome to the adverse drug reactions and drug side effects section for physicians and pharmacists. This section features links to clinical practice resources on reporting, identifying and managing adverse drug reactions and drug side effects.

Drug Analysis Profiles : Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency

The MHRA is pleased to launch interactive Drug Analysis Profiles (iDAPs) on the Yellow Card website. These replace Drug Analysis Prints, which were previously available on the MHRA website. iDAPs are provided for all licensed drugs for which we have received reports of suspected adverse reactions.

Each iDAP contains complete data for all spontaneous suspected adverse drug reactions, or side effects, which have been reported on that drug substance to the MHRA, via the Yellow Card Scheme from healthcare professionals and members of the public.

  • Source: yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk
  • Clinical Resource: Drug Analysis Profiles
  • Register to Access Content: No

European database of suspected adverse drug reaction reports

On this website you can view data on suspected side-effects also known as suspected adverse drug reactions for authorised medicines in the European Economic Area (EEA).

  • Source: adrreports.eu
  • Clinical Resource: Reports
  • Register to Access Content: No

Canada Vigilance Adverse Reaction Online Database

The Canada Vigilance Adverse Reaction Online Database contains information about suspected adverse reactions (also known as side effects) to health products.

Adverse reaction reports are submitted by:

  • consumers and health professionals, who submit reports voluntarily
  • manufacturers and distributors (also known as market authorization holders), who are required to submit reports according to the Food and Drugs Act.
  • Source: canada.ca
  • Clinical Resource: Database
  • Register to Access Content: No

Yellow Card Scheme – MHRA

The Yellow Card Scheme is vital in helping the MHRA monitor the safety of all healthcare products in the UK to ensure they are acceptably safe for patients and those that use them. Reports can be made for all medicines including vaccines, blood factors and immunoglobulins, herbal medicines and homeopathic remedies, and all medical devices available on the UK market.

The Scheme collects information on suspected problems or incidents involving

  1. side effects (also known as adverse drug reactions or ADRs)
  2. medical device adverse incidents
  3. defective medicines (those that are not of an acceptable quality)
  4. counterfeit or fake medicines or medical devices
  • Source: yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk
  • Clinical Resource: Online Reporting
  • Register to Access Content: No

Drug Safety Update

Drug Safety Update is the monthly electronic bulletin from the MHRA and Commission on Human Medicines.

Drug Safety Update is essential reading for all healthcare professionals, bringing you the very latest information and advice to support the safer use of medicines.

  • Source: gov.uk/mhra
  • Clinical Resource: Electronic Bulletins
  • Register to Access Content: No

MedWatch: The FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program

Your FDA gateway for finding clinically important safety information and reporting serious problems with human medical products.

  • Source: fda.gov
  • Clinical Resource: Various
  • Register to Access Content: No

MedEffect Canada – Health Product InfoWatch

The Health Product InfoWatch is a monthly publication intended primarily for healthcare professionals. It provides clinically relevant safety information on pharmaceuticals, biologics, medical devices and natural health products.

  • Source: canada.ca
  • Clinical Resource: Newsletters
  • Register to Access Content: No

Australian Adverse Drug Reactions Bulletin

The Australian Adverse Drug Reactions Bulletin was produced six times a year by the Adverse Drug Reactions Advisory Committee (ACSOM), which was replaced by the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Medicines (ACSOM) in January 2010.

Medicines Safety Update

Medicines Safety Update provides practical information and advice on drug safety and information about emerging safety issues. It replaced the Australian Adverse Drug Reactions Bulletin in 2010.

  • Source: tga.gov.au
  • Clinical Resource: Bulletins and Updates
  • Register to Access Content: No

Adverse Drug Reactions: Types and Treatment Options

The terms “drug allergy,” “drug hypersensitivity,” and “drug reaction”are often used interchangeably. Drug reactions encompass all adverse events related to drug administration, regardless of etiology. Drug hypersensitivity is defined as an immune-mediated response to a drug agent in a sensitized patient. Drug allergy is restricted specifically to a reaction mediated by IgE.

  • Source: aafp.org
  • Clinical Resource: Journal Article
  • Register to Access Content: No

Polypharmacy Guidance, Realistic Prescribing
Scottish Government Polypharmacy Model of Care Group

We are delighted to present the third edition of Polypharmacy Guidance, Realistic Prescribing 2018, which aims to provide guidance on preventing inappropriate polypharmacy at every stage of the patient journey. The 7-Steps is a clear structure for both the initiation of new and the review of existing treatments, which has been updated to place a greater emphasis on ‘what matters to the patient’? The Drug Efficacy (NNT) tables have been refined and provide the relative clinical efficacy of common interventions, for the patient. Harm reduction can be targeted through the use of the Cumulative Toxicity and Anticholinergic Burden tools. An extensive set of Polypharmacy Indicators have been developed and prioritised by a clinical consensus approach, in order to standardise Case Finding, understand prevalence, and provide Clinical Outcomes monitoring.

  • Source: managemeds.scot.nhs.uk
  • Clinical Resource: Guidance
  • Register to Access Content: No

“Pharmacogenetics & ADRs”

The objectives of this lesson are such that upon completion the participant will be able to:

  1. Discuss the pharmacogenetic variables that cause adverse drug reactions.
  2. Describe the pharmacogenetic variants that cause pharmacokinetic changes in medications and increased risk of adverse drug reactions.
  3. Describe the risk of hypersensitivity reactions associated with various HLA-alleles.
  • Source: wfprofessional.com
  • Clinical Resource: CE / CPD / Learning
  • Register to Access Content: No

Thinking clearly about the anticholinergic burden

Older people can be particularly sensitive to the anticholinergic effects of medicines. Adverse effects may arise from an individual anticholinergic medicine, and from the cumulative effects of multiple medicines with varying degrees of anticholinergic properties.

  • Source: veteransmates.net.au
  • Clinical Resource: Brief
  • Register to Access Content: No

American Geriatrics Society Updated Beers Criteria® for Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use in Older Adults

  • Source: americangeriatrics.org
  • Clinical Resource: Guideline
  • Register to Access Content: No

LiverTox

LiverTox® provides up-to-date, unbiased and easily accessed information on the diagnosis, cause, frequency, clinical patterns and management of liver injury attributable to prescription and nonprescription medications and selected herbal and dietary supplements.

LiverTox is produced by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)

  • Source: nlm.nih.gov
  • Clinical Resource: Database
  • Register to Access Content: No

Pneumotox On Line
The Drug-Induced Respiratory Disease Website 

Pneumotox is an aid to the diagnosis of drug-induced & iatrogenic respiratory disease

The place to go for continuously updated information about DIRD

You may access it by generic drug names (alphabetical order) or patterns grouped by families

  • Source: pneumotox.com
  • Clinical Resource: Database
  • Register to Access Content: No

QT Drugs Lists

QT Drugs Lists: This portal includes QTdrugs.org, a list of drugs categorized by their potential to cause QT prolongation and/or torsades de pointes (TdP).

The lists can be exported as PDF or Excel files, printed and can be searched and sorted by: Generic Name, Brand Name, Risk Category, Pharmacologic Class, and Therapeutic Use.

  • Source: crediblemeds.org
  • Clinical Resource: Lists
  • Register to Access Content: Yes – registration is FREE

Pharmaceutical excipients – where do we begin?

Excipients have been defined in many ways, including as inert substances used as vehicles and diluents for drugs. The problem with this definition is that in recent years excipients have proved to be anything but inert, not only possessing the ability to react with other ingredients in the formulation, but also to cause adverse and hypersensitivity reactions in patients.

  • Source: nps.org.au
  • Clinical Resource: Journal Article
  • Register to Access Content: No

 

Resources last checked: 13/08/2021