Over the past year, the Medicines Control Agency has evaluated 21,490 UK spontaneous adverse drug reaction reports, and 28,708 reports from elsewhere, the agency says in its 1999/2000 annual report. Of the UK reports, 3 per cent were fatal and 49 per cent were considered serious.
General practitioners continued to be the principal source of yellow card reports (58 per cent). Hospital pharmacists accounted for 7 per cent of reports and hospital doctors for 26 per cent.
The MCA says that the number of reports from community pharmacists has steadily increased since nationwide reporting was started in November, 1999.
Reporting in specialist areas includes focused schemes, such as for HIV drug reporting and the joint Trent initiative on paediatric reporting. The MCA says it is encouraged by the quality of reports received in these schemes. There were 200 paediatric reports in 1999/2000 and 187 HIV reports (down from 275 the previous year).
MCA annual report and accounts 1999/2000. London: Stationery Office, £13.90.