The World Health Organization developed the Adverse Reaction Terminology (WHO-ART) to describe adverse drug reactions. The Uppsala Monitoring Centre in Sweden is the WHO Collaborating Center for International Drug Monitoring.
There are 6 main types of adverse drug reactions.
Type
Mnemonic
Description or Examples
dose-related
augmented
adverse effects secondary to an elevated concentration of the drug
non-dose-related
bizarre
allergic, anaphylactic or anaphylactoid reactions
dose and time-related
chronic
toxic organ injury following prolonged exposures
time-related
delayed
teratogenesis or other effect that may not be evident for some time after the exposure
withdrawal
end of use
effect only evident after discontinuing the drug, such as adrenal suppression following steroid therapy
failure of therapy
failure
unexpected lack of intended effect despite an adequate amount of drug present
where:
• The non-dose-related type is sometimes referred to as idiosyncratic.
Management usually consists of:
(1) withdrawal of the causative drug (if possible)
(2) specific treatment of the effects
Suspected ADRs should be reported when appropriate.
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