Healthcare professionals and pharmacovigilance of pediatric adverse drug reactions: a 5-year analysis of Adverse Events Reporting System database of the Food and Drug Administration

BACKGROUND: To analyze the Adverse Events Reporting System (AERS) database of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), investigating the characteristics of pediatric adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and describing the effective participation of healthcare professionals in the reporting activity. METHODS: Reports of ADRs were obtained from the FDA website. Only ADRs in pediatric subjects (divided by age, by country and by professional category) were included into the analysis. The drugs suspected as primary cause of the ADRs in pediatric subjects and their principal anatomic group according to the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical classification system were considered. To classify the ADRs, the Medical Dictionary for Regularity Activities terminology was adopted. RESULTS: Between 2008 and 2012, FDA collected 113,077 ADRs in pediatric patients. Of the total pediatric ADR reports, those performed by medical doctors were 32%, followed by consumers (26%) and healthcare professionals (25%). Most of the ADR reports were related to the adolescent group (39%). Healthcare professionals resulted the category with the highest rate of ADR reports in neonates and infants. Drugs acting on nervous system and antineoplastic/immunomodulating agents were the most involved the pediatric ADR reports. Pyrexia, convulsion, vomiting and accidental overdose were the reactions more reported both from healthcare professionals and medical doctors. CONCLUSIONS: The present study describes the pediatric ADR reports of the FDA database through healthcare professional’s perspective, describing the various aspects of pediatric pharmacovigilance.