Introduction

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are global problems of major concern. They are one of the common causes of morbidity and mortality in both hospital and community settings and affecting many with varying magnitudes; as well as leading to morbidity and mortality Hence, proper monitoring of ADRs is a necessity.

World Health Organization (WHO) defines  ADR as  “any response to a drug which is noxious and unintended, and which occurs at doses normally used in man for prophylaxis, diagnosis, or therapy of disease, or for the modification of physiological function. According to a article, Worldwide, 95% of serious ADRs do not get reported to the health authorities.⁽¹⁾

It has been estimated that around 2.9-5.6% of all hospital admissions are due to ADRs and as many as 35% of hospitalized patients experience an ADR during their hospitalization.

ADR spontaneous reporting systems are the basic components for the comprehensive post-marketing surveillance of drug-induced risks. It may detect previously unrecognized adverse reactions and identify risk factors that predispose to drug toxicity and investigate causality.

Spontaneous reporting of ADRs has remained the cornerstone of pharmacovigilance and is important in maintaining patient safety. However, reporting of serious ADRs rarely exceeds 10%. Underreporting of ADRs is a common problem in pharmacovigilance programs.⁽²⁾

Assessment of awareness of Pharmacovigilance among the healthcare professionals is very important due to under reporting of adverse drug reactions. Studies from different settings indicate inadequate knowledge about pharmacovigilance among healthcare professionals as well as attitude that are associated with high degree of underreporting.

1. Tew MM, Teoh BC, Mohd Baidi AS and Saw HL et all Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting among Doctors and Pharmacists in Primary Healthcare, Adv Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf 2016,
2. Somayeh Hanafi, Hassan Torkamandi, Alireza Hayatshahi, Kheirollah Gholami, Mohammadreza Javadi Knowledge, attitudes and practice of nurses regarding adverse drug reaction reporting, Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research |January-February 2012 | Vol. 17
3. Reddy lokesh , Javeed Pasha S.K., Rathinavelu M., Reddy Y.P. Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Perception of Pharmacovigilance and Adverse Drug Reaction (ADR) Reporting among the Pharmacy Students in South India. IOSR Journal of Pharmacy and Biological Sciences Volume 9, Issue 2 Ver. III (Mar-Apr. 2014)
4. Kamtane R , Jayawardhani V, Knowledge, Attitude And Perception Of Physicians Towards Adverse Drug Reaction (Adr) Reporting: A Pharmacoepidemiological Study, Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical and Clinical Research Vol 5, Suppl 3, 2012
5. Upadhyaya Het, Vora Mukeshkumar¹. Nagar Jatin, and . Patel Pruthvish, Knowledge, attitude and practices toward pharmacovigilance and adverse drug reactions in postgraduate students of Tertiary Care Hospital in Gujarat. J Adv Pharm Technol Res. 2015 Jan-Mar; 6(1): 29–34.
6. Wysowski Diane K., Lynette Swartz, Adverse Drug Event Surveillance and Drug Withdrawals in the United States, 1969-2002, ) ARCH INTERN MED/ VOL 165, JUNE 27, 2005.
7. Ganesan Subramaniyan, Vikneswaran Gunaseelan , Chenchu Reddy Kishtapati , A Survey on Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Pharmacovigilance towards Adverse drug reactions reporting among Doctors and Nurses in a Tertiary Care Hospital in South India, Journal of Young Pharmacists, Vol 8, Issue 4,Oct-Dec, 2016.
8. Datta Supratim, Sengupta Shramana, An evaluation of knowledge, attitude, and practice of adverse drug reaction reporting in a tertiary care teaching hospital of Sikkim, Perspectives in Clinical Research | October-December 2015 | Vol 6.
9. Karande Vitthal B. , Burute Ramchandra B. , Puram Nitin N.et.al Knowledge, attitude and practice of adverse drug reaction reporting among teaching and nonteaching hospital physicians, International Journal of Basic & Clinical Pharmacology | July-August 2016 | Vol 5
10. Bhagavathula Akshaya Srikanth , Elnour Asim Ahmed et al. Health Professionals' Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices about Pharmacovigilance in India. PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0152221 March 24, 2016
11. Vohra A, Vohra R,Verma M ,poor knowledge attitude practices of pharmacovigilance in health  professionals ,JMGUMST SEPT-DEC 2016;1(2):42-46.

Dr Sayyed Asif Umar

Assistant Professor Department of Pharmacology PMT PIMS