§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many deaths attributable to paracetamol were reported via the yellow card system for each year from 1990 to 1995; and what proportion of fatal reports received these deaths represented for each year. [14294]
§ Mr. MaloneThe available information is shown in the table.
Suspected adverse reaction reports to the Committee on Safety of Medicines from 1990–1995 related to the use of paracetamol and all drugs in the United Kingdom Year received Reports with a fatal outcome where paracetamol is a suspect drug (percentage of all fatal) All reports where paracetamol is a suspect drug Total number of reports to all human medicinal products with a fatal outcome Total number of reports 1990 3(0.91) 65 328 17,963 1991 2(0.43) 56 467 19,492 1992 1(0.22) 60 455 20,184 1993 3(0.64) 60 471 18,082 1994 1(0.25) 43 408 17,566 1995 3(0.63) 49 476 17,749 The table provides information on the numbers of reports of suspected adverse drug reactions received by the Committee on Safety of Medicines from health professionals over the period 1990–1995. This includes the number of reports associated with paracetamol and with all drugs and the number associated with a fatal outcome. A report does not necessarily mean that the reaction was caused by the drug. Many factors influence reporting rate, comparisons across drugs may therefore be misleading.