§ Mrs. Helen ClarkTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many adverse reaction reports were received through the Yellow Card reporting system regarding(a) anti-psychotic drugs excluding atypicals and (b) atypical anti-psychotic drugs in (i) 2000–01, (ii) 200–02, (iii) 2002–03 and (iv) 2003–04; and how many prescriptions there were for each of these types of drugs in these years. [172419]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonThe table shows the number of suspected adverse drug reaction (ADR) reports received via the United Kingdom yellow card scheme regarding antipsychotic drugs (atypical and other antipsychotics) each year since 2000 together with the number of prescriptions dispensed in the community in England.
Number of suspected ADR reports UK and number of prescriptions dispensed in the community (England) Antipsychotics (excluding atypicals) Atypical antipsychotics ADRs Prescriptions ADRs Prescriptions 2000 110 3,790,273 917 1,149,450 2001 118 2,875,980 1100 1,842,005 2002 100 2,507,203 1322 2,471,345 2003 131 2,251,279 1689 3,083,712 It is important to note that a report of an adverse reaction does not necessarily mean that it was caused by 791W the drug. Many factors have to be taken into account in assessing causal relationships including temporal association, the possible contribution of concomitant medication and the underlying disease. Other factors such as the time since a drug was first marketed, media interest or regulatory action can also influence the frequency of reporting. This means that reporting rates based on numbers of spontaneous reports and numbers of prescriptions are not true measures of the frequency of reactions or a firm basis for comparisons between drug substances or classes.