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Influence of Regulatory Measures on the Rate of Spontaneous Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting in Italy

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Abstract

Background: The reporting of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) is the mainstay of post-marketing surveillance systems. Under-reporting and selective reporting are considered the main limitations of a spontaneous reporting-based pharmacovigilance system. However, excessive reporting induced by external events may also impair signal detection by increasing the noise level.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the influence of regulatory measures and other external factors on the rate of ADR reporting in Italy, focusing on four situations occurring in the last 10 years: ACE inhibitor-induced cough; HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (‘statins’) and rhabdomyolysis; nimesulide and hepatic toxicity; and cyclo-oxygenase (COX)-2 selective inhibitors (‘coxibs’) and increase in cardiovascular risk.

Methods: The study was based on data from spontaneous reporting in six Italian regions collected from January 1995 to December 2005. We analysed a 10-year period as a reasonable time interval around the four situations of interest, highlighting the influence of regulatory measures on the rate of ADR reporting (number of reports per million inhabitants). Chi-squared tests were used to assess the statistical significance of any changes in ADR reporting. Drug sales data were also studied to examine possible changes in drug use. Sales data were expressed as daily defined dose per 1000 inhabitants per day.

Results: ACE inhibitors: a 5-fold increase in the reporting rate of ACE inhibitor-induced cough was observed in 1998 and 1999 following a restriction on reimbursement for angiotensin receptor blockers introduced in 1998 and removed at the end of 1999. Statins: after the withdrawal of cerivastatin in 2001, the ADR reporting rate increased more than 4-fold, with musculoskeletal ADRs representing about 60% of all the ADRs reported in that year, and progressively decreased in the following years. Nimesulide: an increase in hepatic ADR reporting was observed after withdrawal of the drug from the Finnish and Spanish markets in 2002. Coxibs: no important changes in the rate of cardiovascular events reporting in the period 2000–4 were observed. In 2005, after the withdrawal of rofecoxib in September 2004, both the ADR reporting rate and sales of the drug decreased drastically.

Conclusion: Our data suggest that spontaneous ADR reporting can be influenced in different ways by external events. Our data emphasize the need for educational initiatives aimed at increasing the doctor’s and patient’s awareness of the usefulness and the limitations of spontaneous reporting in the pharmacovigilance system. Such initiatives should use appropriate risk communication strategies in order to avoid unnecessary alarm, which could cause unjustified interruption of therapies or misplaced confidence in new drugs.

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Notes

  1. 1The use of trade names is for product identification purposes only and does not imply endorsement.

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Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to the pharmaceutical departments of Emilia-Romagna, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Lombardia, Provincia Autonoma di Trento, Sicilia and Veneto regions and their local health authorities, for collecting the adverse reaction forms. We wish to thank Professor Fabrizio De Ponti for his helpful comments and suggestions in revising the manuscript. We also thank Mr Roberto Da Cas of the National Drug Utilisation Monitoring Centre (OsMed) for kindly supplying national drug consumption data. All authors had full access to all of the data in the study and take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. No sources of funding were used to assist in the preparation of this study. The authors have no conflicts of interest that are directly relevant to the content of this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology, University of Bologna, Via Irnerio, 48, Bologna, Italy

    Domenico Motola, Antonio Vargiu, Alberto Vaccheri & Nicola Montanaro

  2. Clinical Pharmacology Unit, Policlinico G.B. Rossi, Verona, Italy

    Roberto Leone, Anita Conforti, Ugo Moretti & Giampaolo Velo

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  1. Domenico Motola
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  2. Antonio Vargiu
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  3. Roberto Leone
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  4. Anita Conforti
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  8. Nicola Montanaro
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Correspondence to Domenico Motola.

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Motola, D., Vargiu, A., Leone, R. et al. Influence of Regulatory Measures on the Rate of Spontaneous Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting in Italy. Drug-Safety 31, 609–616 (2008). https://doi.org/10.2165/00002018-200831070-00006

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