Skip to main content
Log in

VigiBase, the WHO Global ICSR Database System: Basic Facts

  • Adverse Events
  • Published:
Drug information journal : DIJ / Drug Information Association Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The main aim of the WHO International Drug Monitoring Programme, started in 1968, is to identify the earliest possible pharmacovigilance signals. The program now has more than 80 member countries from all parts of the world contributing individual case safety reports (ICSRs) to the WHO Global ICSR Database System, VigiBase.

VigiBase is maintained and developed on behalf of WHO by the Uppsala Monitoring Centre (UMC), situated in Uppsala, Sweden. The database system includes the ICH E2B compatible ICSR database, the WHO Drug Dictionaries (WHO-DD and -DDE), and the medical terminologies WHO Adverse Reaction Terminology (WHO-ART), International Classification of Diseases (ICD), and the Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities (MedDRA).

Apart from data management and quality assurance tools, the VigiBase system includes a web-based reporting tool, an automated signal detection process using advanced data mining, and search facilities, available to the member countries and, on request, to other stakeholders.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Begaud B, et al. Rates of spontaneous reporting of adverse drug reactions in France. JAMA. 2002; 288: 1588.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Lindquist M. Seeing and Observing in International Pharmacovigilance—Achievements and Prospects in Worldwide Drug Safety. Nijmegen: University of Nijmegen; 2003.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Rawlins MD. Pharmacovigilance: paradise lost, regained or postponed? The William Withering Lecture 1994. J R Coll Physicians Lond. 1995;29:41–49.

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. Lindquist M, et al. A retrospective evaluation of a data mining approach to aid finding new adverse drug reaction signals in the WHO international database. Drug Safety. 2000;23:533–542.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Stahl M, et al. Assessing the impact of drug safety signals from the WHO database presented in “SIGNAL”: results from a questionnaire of national pharmacovigilance centres. Drug Safety. 2003;26: 721–727.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Norén GN, et al. Extending the methods used to screen the WHO drug safety database towards analysis of complex associations and improved accuracy for rare events. Stat Med. 2006;25: 3740–3757.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Norén GN, Orre R, Bate A, Edwards IR. Duplicate detection in adverse drug reaction surveillance. Data Mining Knowledge Discovery. 2007;14:305–328.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Further Reading

  • Bate A. The Use of a Bayesian Confidence Propagation Neural Network in Pharmacovigilance. Umeå University; 2003.

  • Bate A, Lindquist M, Edwards IR, et al. A Bayesian neural network method for adverse drug reaction signal generation. Eur J Clin Pharmacol. 1998;54: 315–321.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bate A, Lindquist M, Edwards IR, Orre R. A data mining approach for signal detection and analysis. Drug Safety. 2002;25:393–397.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bate A, Lindquist M, Orre R, Edwards IR, Meyboom RH. Data-mining analyses of pharmacovigilance signals in relation to relevant comparison drugs. Eur J Clin Pharmacol. 2002;58:483–490.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bate A, Orre R, Lindquist M, Edwards IR. Explanation of data mining methods. BMJ. 2001. http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/322/7296/1207/DC1/cgi/content/full/322/7296/1207/DC1.

  • Bate A, Orre R, Lindquist M, Edwards IR. Pattern recognition using a recurrent neural network and its application to the WHO database. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Safety. 2001;10:S163 (abstract).

  • Bate AJ, Lindquist M, Edwards IR, Orre R. Understanding quantitative signal detection methods in spontaneously reported data. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Safety. 2002;11:S214–S215.

    Google Scholar 

  • CIOMS. Harmonization of data fields for electronic transmission of case-report information internationally. Geneva: CIOMS; 1995: 48.

  • Edwards IR. The accelerating need for pharmacovigilance. J R Coll Physicians Lond. 2000;34:48–51.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards IR. Pharmacovigilance—beyond 2000. Reactions. 2000;(783):3–5.

  • Edwards IR, Fucik H. Impact and credibility of the WHO adverse reaction signals. Drug Inf J. 1996; 30:461–464.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards IR, Lindquist M, Wiholm BE, Napke E. Quality criteria for early signals of possible adverse drug reactions. Lancet. 1990;336:156–158.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards IR, Olsson S. The WHO International Drug Monitoring Programme. In: Aronson JK, ed. Side Effects of Drugs, Annual 25: Elsevier Science B.V., 2002: 589–598.

  • Farah MH, Edwards IR, Lindquist M. Key issues in herbal pharmacovigilance. Adverse Drug Reactions J. 2000;2:105–109.

    Google Scholar 

  • Finney DJ. Monitoring adverse reactions to drugs— its logic and its weaknesses. Proc Eur Soc Study Drug Toxicity. 1966:198–207.

  • Finney DJ. Systematic signalling of adverse reactions to drugs. Methods Inf Med. 1974;13:1–10.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fucik H, Backlund A, Farah M. Building a computerized herbal substance register for implementation and use in the World Health Organisation international drug monitoring programme. Drug Inf J. 2002;36:839–854.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindquist M. Data quality management in pharmacovigilance. Drug Safety. 2004;27:857–870.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lindquist M. The WHO Programme for International Drug Monitoring: the present and future. In: Mitchard M, ed. Electronic Communication Technologies. Buffalo: Interpharm Press; 1998: 527–549.

  • Lindquist M, Edwards IR, Bate A, Fucik H, Nunes AM, Ståhl M. From association to alert—a revised approach to international signal analysis. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Safety. 1999;8:S15–S25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindquist M, Farah MH, Edwards R. Monitoring of herbal medicines. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2000:18.

  • Lindquist M, Pettersson M, Edwards IR, et al. Omeprazole and visual disorders: seeing alternatives. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Safety. 1996; 5:27– 32.

  • Lindquist M, Pettersson M, Edwards IR, et al. How does cystitis affect a comparative risk profile of tiaprofenic acid with other non-steroidal antiin-flammatory drugs? An international study based on spontaneous reports and drug usage data. ADR Signals Analysis Project (ASAP) Team. Pharmacol Toxicol. 1997;80:211–217.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lindquist M, Sanderson J, Claesson C, Imbs JL, Rohan A, Edwards IR. New pharmacovigilance information on an old drug—an international study of spontaneous reports on digoxin. Drug Invest. 1994;8:73–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Orre R, Lansner A, Bate A, Lindquist M. Bayesian neural networks with confidence estimations applied to data mining. Computational Stat Data Anal. 2000;34:473–493.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ståhl M, Lindquist M, Edwards IR, Brown EG. Introducing triage logic as a new strategy for the detection of signals in the WHO Drug Monitoring Database. Drug Safety. 2003;26:721–727.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Uppsala Monitoring Centre. http://www.who-umc.org.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marie Lindquist.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Lindquist, M. VigiBase, the WHO Global ICSR Database System: Basic Facts. Ther Innov Regul Sci 42, 409–419 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1177/009286150804200501

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/009286150804200501

Key Words

Navigation