(Under reporting of suspected adverse drug reactions to newly marketed ("black triangle") drugs in general practice: observational study)

In this week's BMJ Dr Richard Martin from the Drug Safety Research Unit at Southampton and colleagues from the School of Medicine at the University of Southampton report that general practitioners under-report suspected adverse drug reactions to newly marketed drugs to the Committee on Safety of Medicines. Severe and previously unknown adverse drug reactions to new products are more likely to be reported to the Committee. The authors believe that under-reporting and this bias in reporting needs to be addressed and that doctors should report all adverse reactions, however minor, that their patients have to drugs that have recently been launched onto the market, to enable effective postmarketing surveillance to take place.

Contact:
Dr Richard Martin, Clinical Research Fellow, Drug Safety Research Unit, Southampton