[Could we improve notification of adverse drugs reactions in hospital? Assessment of 5 years of network PharmacoMIP's activities].

BACKGROUND: Spontaneous reporting of adverse drug reactions (ADR) is fundamental to drug safety surveillance (pharmacovigilance) and assessment of benefit/risk ratio. However, under-reporting remains the limit of the system.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of regular visits of an Assistant in Clinical Research (CRA) on the improvement of ADR reporting in non-university hospitals.

METHODS: We set up an ADR report collecting system that involved regular visits in non-university hospitals, We began the visits in 2006 in 2 areas (Haute Garonne and Gers), extended to 4 other areas in 2009. We compared the reporting rate (number of reports/number of beds) of total ADRs reported by non-university hospitals in these areas before (one year) and after the start of CRA visits.

RESULTS: A total 2831 of reports were collected by the CRA: 40% were "serious" including two deaths. The results suggest an increase of 100% of the rate of reporting of ADRs.

CONCLUSION: This study shows that regular visits increases the number of ADRs reported by non-university hospitals. Further assessment of this procedure is necessary for long term evaluation of its effectiveness.