The value of reporting therapeutic ineffectiveness as an adverse drug reaction

Therapeutic ineffectiveness is a frequent drug-related problem that can occ ur in a variety of different situations and be caused by different mechanis ms. Examples are inappropriate use, interactions or metabolic abnormalities . Observations in patients of unexpected ineffectiveness can provide import ant information with regard to such situations. Therefore, ineffectiveness - especially when unexpected or unexplained - is a potentially important re portable event in pharmacovigilance. The terms regarding ineffectiveness in the WHO Adverse Reaction Terminology (WHOART) have been recently revised i n order to enable optimal coding of such case reports.