Importance of Publishing Adverse Drug Reaction Case Reports: Promoting Public Health and Advancing Pharmacology and Therapeutics

Abstract

This article, which encourages physicians to publish case reports of adverse drug reactions (ADRs), is a review of how well-documented published case reports have contributed to promoting public safety and health and thus served to advance basic pharmacology. The origin of a number of regulatory guidelines can ultimately be traced to safety concerns triggered by such reports. It illustrates how case reports of ADRs, when coupled with simultaneous monitoring of drug pharmacokinetics, have also led to further investigations resulting in major advances in pharmacology, especially pharmacogenetics, mechanisms of drug–drug interactions and modulation of drug metabolism during inflammatory co-morbidities. Published case reports differ significantly from spontaneous case reports since they enjoy quality-compliant peer review and an immediate wider visibility among the readership, triggering others to report similar cases, and ultimately leading to prescribing restrictions on or withdrawals of the drug from the market depending on the risk. Therefore, the reporter should not be discouraged by (a) the unusual or bizarre nature of the reaction; (b) the interval, however long, from commencing drug administration to the onset of the suspected reaction; (c) however well-known the drug or the period for which it has been on the market; and (d) any pressure not to publish. Case reports should be published in reputable journals that are searchable through databases such as PubMed.