Characterization and representation of substandard drugs in the area of pharmacovigilance scope: a narrative review

• Autor(a) principal: Kalleian Eserian, Jaqueline
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por; eng
• Título da fonte: Vigilância Sanitária em Debate
• Texto Completo: https://visaemdebate.incqs.fiocruz.br/index.php/visaemdebate/article/view/1922
• topic: Pharmacovigilance; Notification; Quality Control; Pharmaceutical Preparations; Farmacovigilância; Notificação; Controle de Qualidade; Preparações Farmacêuticas; Vigilância sanitária; Medicamentos; Desvios da qualidade

Introduction: Substandard drugs (SD) present great relevance in the area of pharmacovigilance and should be investigated and monitored as they can lead to several clinical outcomes. Objective: To discuss the characteristics of SD in the area of  pharmacovigilance through a narrative review. Method: A comprehensive search was performed on databases using the descriptors “pharmacovigilance”, “technical complaints (TC)”, “SD” and “notification systems” including studies directly concerning the subject conducted in Brazil and published between 2005 and 2020. Results: SD issues might be associated with drug product alterations, content and integrity of the package and labeling. Among the 18 selected studies (14 articles, two book chapters and two dissertations) regarding SD notifications reported as drug TC, two exclusively evaluated drug  TC notifications (100.0%), while the rest showed that this type of notification represented 0.6% to 70.0% of the total of notifications made in national health establishments. The main SD issues found were:  alterations on the product aspect; absence/reduction in the amount of drug product; and, package problems. Conclusions: Notifications involving SD issues are considered an excellent quality indicator for the drugs available in the market, which contributes to suppliers’ qualification and provision of consistent products for the population.