All Yellow Card reports received by the MHRA are reviewed. A complete listing of all side effects or adverse reaction that have been reported on a Yellow Card can be found on the Yellow Card website.
The complete listing is called an interactive Drug Analysis Profile (IDAP). This includes all reports from health professionals, members of the public and pharmaceutical companies. Medicines are listed alphabetically by the name of active ingredient, not by the brand name.
However, this information does not present a complete overview of the potential side effects associated with specific medicines. Conclusions on the safety and risks of medicines cannot be made on the data shown in the Interactive Drug Analysis Profile alone.
For comprehensive information about the risks of particular medicines, you should refer to the patient information leaflet for the medicine, or ask your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.
When using the Interactive Drug Analysis Profile, you should remember that:
- The likelihood of experiencing an adverse drug reaction when taking a medicine cannot be estimated from the data in the Interactive Drug Analysis Profile. This is because we have limited information about how many people have taken the medicine without experiencing a reaction.
- Reporters are asked to submit Yellow Card reports even if they only have a suspicion that the medicine may have caused the adverse drug reaction. The existence of an adverse drug reaction report in the Interactive Drug Analysis Profile does not necessarily mean that the medicine has caused the reaction.
- It may be difficult to tell the difference between something that has occurred naturally and an adverse drug reaction. Sometimes reactions can be part of the condition being treated rather than being caused by a medicine.
- Many factors have to be considered when assessing whether a medicine has caused a reported adverse drug reaction. When monitoring the safety of medicines, MHRA staff carry out careful analysis of these factors.
- It is not possible to compare the safety of different medicines by comparing the numbers presented in the Interactive Drug Analysis Profiles. Reporting rates can be influenced by many factors including the seriousness of the adverse drug reactions, their ease of recognition and the extent of use of a particular product. Reporting can also be stimulated by promotion and publicity about a product.
If you are concerned about the medicine you are taking, you should contact your GP, the health professional who prescribed the medicine, or your pharmacist.
You should not stop taking any prescribed medicine without first talking to your health professional.