title: Clustering WHO-ART terms using semantic distance and machine learning algorithms.
abstract: WHO-ART was developed by the WHO collaborating centre for international drug monitoring in order to code adverse drug reactions. We assume that computation of semantic distance between WHO-ART terms may be an efficient way to group related medical conditions in the WHO database in order to improve signal detection. Our objective was to develop a method for clustering WHO-ART terms according to some proximity of their meanings. Our material comprises 758 WHO-ART terms. A formal definition was acquired for each term as a list of elementary concepts belonging to SNOMED international axes and characterized by modifier terms in some cases. Clustering was implemented as a terminology service on a J2EE server. Two different unsupervised machine learning algorithms (KMeans, Pvclust) clustered WHO-ART terms according to a semantic distance operator previously described. Pvclust grouped 51% of WHO-ART terms. K-Means grouped 100% of WHO-ART terms but 25% clusters were heterogeneous with k = 180 clusters and 6% clusters were heterogeneous with k = 32 clusters. Clustering algorithms associated to semantic distance could suggest potential groupings of WHO-ART terms that need validation according to the user's requirements.
authors.affiliation: University Hospitals of Geneva - CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Jimison
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Iavindrasana
authors.forename: Cedric
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bousquet
authors.forename: Patrice
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Degoulet
authors.forename: Marie-Christine
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Jaulent
mesh_terms: D016907:Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting Systems; D000465:Algorithms; D001185:Artificial Intelligence; D006801:Humans; D012660:Semantics; D013358:Subject Headings; D039061:Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine; D017432:Unified Medical Language System; D018875:Vocabulary, Controlled; D014944:World Health Organization