[Reports of suspected side effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in Belgium and The Netherlands].

Objective: To study the adverse drug reaction (ADR) profile of selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRI) in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Design: Descriptive study.

Setting: The Belgian Pharmacovigilance Centre and the Dutch Drug Safety Unit.

Method: All adverse reactions of fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, paroxetine and sertraline, reported between the moment of registration of these drugs and January 1st 1995, were assessed for causality. Possible, probable and certain adverse reactions were counted per drug and per country.

Results: At the national monitoring centres of Belgium and of the Netherlands adverse reactions were reported 78 and 537 times, respectively. Approximately 30% of the adverse reactions were well-established. Approximately 60% of the reactions were poorly documented or not serious. Less than 1% of the adverse reactions reported in Belgium and approximately 13% of the reactions reported in the Netherlands, were less established and/or serious. These reactions were: movement disorders and extrapyramidal reactions, convulsions, galactorrhoea, hyponatraemia and syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion, and purpura.

Conclusion: The ADR profile was compatible with the ADR profile in the medical literature, but not all ADR were similarly represented in the product information of the different SSRI. More adverse reactions were reported in the Netherlands than in Belgium.