Reporting Rates of Opioid-Related Adverse Events Since 1965 in Canada: A Descriptive Retrospective Study.

Background: Patients with chronic or acute/postoperative pain frequently use opioids. However, opioids may cause considerable adverse reactions (ARs), such as respiratory depression, which could be lethal. Unfortunately, only 5% of drug-related ARs (including those to opioids) are reported to health authorities.

Using Data from the Canadian Post-marketing Spontaneous Pharmacovigilance System for Drug Safety Research: A Feasibility Study.

Introduction: Post-marketing studies involve the detection and interpretation of potential problems associated with the use of a given drug. Post-marketing spontaneous pharmacovigilance systems, such as the Canada Vigilance program, may constitute a gold mine of free data for drug safety research. However, the quantity and the quality of data remain to be demonstrated.