[Adverse drug reactions in the Spanish medical bibliographic literature: a comparison of 3 periods]. / Reacciones adversas a medicamentos en la bibliografía médica española: comparación de tres períodos.

BACKGROUND: A quantitative and qualitative assessment of reports on suspected adverse drug reactions (ARD) in Spanish medical literature was carried out. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The periods analysed were 1972-1974, 1986-1988 and 1992-1994, and the medical journals were Anales de Medicina Interna, Medicina Clínica and Revista Clínica Española. We selected all articles including specific information on suspect ADR. RESULTS: The percentage of articles has increased considerably (1972-1974: 2.1%, 1986-1988: 5.7%, and 1992-1994: 8.2%). In spite of this growth, the qualitative data studied have not significantly improved. CONCLUSIONS: It is necessary to device some mechanism in order to improve ADR reporting.