title: A web-based quantitative signal detection system on adverse drug reaction in China.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To establish a web-based quantitative signal detection system for adverse drug reactions (ADRs) based on spontaneous reporting to the Guangdong province drug-monitoring database in China.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using Microsoft Visual Basic and Active Server Pages programming languages and SQL Server 2000, a web-based system with three software modules was programmed to perform data preparation and association detection, and to generate reports. Information component (IC), the internationally recognized measure of disproportionality for quantitative signal detection, was integrated into the system, and its capacity for signal detection was tested with ADR reports collected from 1 January 2002 to 30 June 2007 in Guangdong.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 2,496 associations including known signals were mined from the test database. Signals (e.g., cefradine-induced hematuria) were found early by using the IC analysis. In addition, 291 drug-ADR associations were alerted for the first time in the second quarter of 2007.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The system can be used for the detection of significant associations from the Guangdong drug-monitoring database and could be an extremely useful adjunct to the expert assessment of very large numbers of spontaneously reported ADRs for the first time in China.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Statistics, Fourth Military Medical University, No 17, Changle West Road, Xian, 710032, China.
authors.forename: Chanjuan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Jielai
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.forename: Jianxiong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.forename: Wenge
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Suzhen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Guanquan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D016907:Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting Systems; D002681:China; D016208:Databases, Factual; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D016347:Medical Records Systems, Computerized; D016571:Neural Networks, Computer; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D012985:Software Design