Under-reporting of adverse drug reactions: Surveillance system evaluation in Ho Municipality of the Volta Region, Ghana

BACKGROUND: Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) can occur with all medicines even after successful extensive clinical trials. ADRs result in more than 10% of hospital admissions worldwide. In Ghana, there has been an increase of 13 to 126 ADR reports per million population from 2012 to 2018. ADR Surveillance System (ADRSS) also known as pharmacovigilance has been put in place by the Ghana Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) to collect and manage suspected ADR reports and communicate safety issues to healthcare professionals and the general public. The ADRSS in Ho Municipality was evaluated to assess the extent of reporting of ADRs and the system’s attributes; determine its usefulness, and assess if the ADRSS is achieving its objectives. METHODS: We evaluated the ADRSS of the Ho Municipality from January 2015 to December 2019. Quantitative data were collected through interviews and review of records. We adapted the updated CDC guidelines to develop interview guides and a checklist for data collection. Attributes reviewed included simplicity, data quality, acceptability, representativeness, timeliness, sensitivity, predictive value positive and stability. RESULTS: We found a total of 1,237 suspected ADR during the period, of which only 36 (3%) were reported by healthcare professionals in the Ho Municipality to the National Pharmacovigilance Centre (NPC). Only 43.9% of health staff interviewed were familiar with the ADRSS and its reporting channel. Staff who could mention at least one objective of the ADRSS were 34.2%, and 12.2% knew the timelines for reporting ADR. Reports took a median time of 41 (IQR = 25, 81) days from reporter to NPC. Reports sent on time constituted 37.5%. Fully completed case forms constituted 77.1% and the predictive value positive (PVP) was 20%. About 53% of ADRs were reported for female patients. Up to 88.9% of ADRs were classified as drug related. Anti-tuberculosis agents and other antibiotics constituted (40.6%) and (18.8%) of all reports. The ADRSS was not integrated into the disease surveillance and response system of Ghana’s Health Service and so was not flexible to changes. A dedicated ADR surveillance officer in regions helped with the system’s stability. Data from Ghana feeds into a WHO database for global decision making. CONCLUSIONS: There was under-reporting of ADRs in the Ho Municipality from January 2015 to December 2019. The ADR surveillance system was simple, stable, acceptable, representative, had a strong PVP but was not flexible or timely. The ADRSS was found useful and partially met its objectives.