3 Who Drug Dictionary

WHO Drug Dictionary
Magnus Wallberg
Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
November 24th, 2009
magnus.wallberg@who-umc.org
Paracetamol
Adalat
Viccilin
Bamyl
Penicline
Panodil
Broadcillin
Acetylsalicylic acid
Alvedon
Nifedicor
Ampicillin
Aspirin
Magnecyl
Nifedipine
Panodol
Ampicillin sodium
Magnus Wallberg, UMC
Paracetamol
Adalat
Viccilin
Bamyl
Penicline
Panodil
Broadcillin
Acetylsalicylic acid
Alvedon
Nifedicor
Ampicillin
Aspirin
Magnecyl
Nifedipine
Panodol
Ampicillin sodium
General information
The WHO Drug Dictionary contains data from 1968 onwards
The content today is originating mostly from IMS and National
Drug names References
No entries are deleted even though they are withdrawn from
the market, since old case reports might be coded with these
products.
They are marked as OLD FORM
Drug/Medicinal Product
Classification
Structure
to allow easy and flexible data retrieval
and analysis
Classifications
Chemical
Indication
Hierarchical
to allow different levels of precision
to facilitate navigation and aggregation
Up to date
The WHO Drug Dictionary

(WHO-DD)
A database with information about medicinal
products from all over the world
it contains medicinal products and information related to
them in a relational database system
Information is provided in a consistent and

structured way
It provides useful groupings of data
useful for both data input and output
It is continuously updated
The WHO-DD
A source of international drug names
Substance names according to International Non
Proprietary Names (INN)
Drugs classified according to the AnatomicalTherapeutic-Chemical (ATC) classifications system
Information on companies and reference sources
Medicinal product names

Proprietary names
single-ingredient
multiple-ingredient
Nonproprietary/Generic names
single-ingredient
multiple-ingredient
Preferred name
Single ingredient drugs
Nonproprietary names
Multiple ingredient drugs

Trade names
First reported brand of a given ingredient combination
Nonproprietary names
Types of medicinal products in

WHO-DD
The majority of the entries refer to conventional
(chemical substance) medicinal products
but the WHO-DD also includes
herbal remedies
vaccine
blood products
homeopatic remedy
dietary supplement
Codes and IDs

Link products with the same ingredients
generics brands
Particularly important for international exchange of

information, since there are different product names
in different countries
Link products containing the same base ingredient,
but different salt/esters
Codes and IDs

Drug Code identifies
Ingredient(s)
Salts/Esters
Names
Aspirin
Magnecyl
000027 01 004
000027 01 006
Medicinal Product ID identifies a unique entry

a numeric name.
How do we use WHO-DD

Those who report ICSRs to the UMC need to give
the product name and when needed the National
product name compendia
The reported medicinal product is linked to the
WHO-DD which contains more information on the
product
ICSR
Patient data
VigiBase
ICSR
database
Reaction data
Medication data
Vioxx 5 mg d
More data...
WHO-DD
Vioxx 5 mg tablet
Merck, Sweden
ATC code: M01AH
Ingr.: rofecoxib
WHO-DD
With the WHO-DD linked to ICSRs

we can
Sort
Group
Search
ICSRs according to:

product name
ingredients
therapeutic group etc.
An example
Ingredient
/Base
Salt/Ester
Brand name
Medicinal
product
Paracetamol
Alvedon
500 mg Tablets
Paracetamol
Alvedon
Fluid
Paracetamol
Acetamol
Tablets
Paracetamol
Paracetamol
sodium
Acetasod
Intravenous
Paracetamol
Paracetamol
hydrocloride
Acecloride
Unspecified
1 Search on medicinal product level

2 Search on brand name level
3 Search on Salt/Ester level
4 Search on base ingredient level
3
4
ATC in WHO Drug Dictionary

ATC Classification Index
issued by the WHO Collaborating Centre, Oslo,
Norway

Help for drug utilisation research
Hierarchical classification useful for navigation and
aggregation
Applicable to both single and multiple ingredient
drugs
Medicinal products are classified according to the
main therapeutic use
Revised yearly

N05BA - Benzodiazepine derivatives
Medicine
Chemical drug
Anatomical level
CNS drug
ATC
Sedative
Chemical level
Benzodiazepine
Generic level (ingredient/s)
Diazepam
Report entry
Therapeutic level
Valium
Proprietary name level

Valium tablet
Valium 10mg tablet
ATC Classification Main Groups

Screen shot
from DD
Browser
Screen shot
from DD
Browser
An example
Ingredient
/Base
Salt/Ester
Brand name
Medicinal
product
Paracetamol
Alvedon
500 mg Tablets
Paracetamol
Alvedon
Fluid
Paracetamol
Acetamol
Tablets
Paracetamol
Paracetamol
sodium
Acetasod
Intravenous
Paracetamol
Paracetamol
hydrocloride
Acecloride
Unspecified
1 Search on medicinal product level

2 Search on brand name level
3 Search on Salt/Ester level
4 Search on base ingredient level
3
4
An example
Ingredient
/Base
Salt/Ester
Brand name
Medicinal
product
Paracetamol
Alvedon
500 mg Tablets
Paracetamol
Alvedon
Fluid
Paracetamol
Acetamol
Tablets
Paracetamol
Paracetamol
sodium
Acetasod
Intravenous
Paracetamol
Paracetamol
hydrocloride
Acecloride
Unspecified
Acetylsalicylic
acid
Aspirin
Tablets
An example
ATC code
Ingredient
/Base
Salt/Ester
Brand name Medicinal

product
N02BE
Paracetamol
Alvedon
500 mg Tablets
N02BE
Paracetamol
Alvedon
Fluid
N02BE
Paracetamol
Acetamol
Tablets
N02BE
Paracetamol
Paracetamol
sodium
Acetasod
Intravenous
N02BE
Paracetamol
Paracetamol
hydrocloride
Acecloride
Unspecified
N02BA
Acetylsalicylic
acid
Aspirin
Tablets
Access to the
WHO-DD
How to access the WHO-DD

WHO-DD is available in several ways
As textfiles to download and load in local tools
Requires in-depthtechnical knowledge of the WHO DD
structure
Via online tools:

Integrated in VigiSearch
Integrated in VigiFlow
WHO DD browser
The methods for access is somewhat different

depending on the needs for each specific tool
WHO Drug Dictionary VigiSearch

The WHO Drug Dictionary is available via
VigiSearch
Only medicinal products reported on ICSRs available
VigiSearch is up to date with all medicinal products

occuring on the reports within VigiBase
Updated together with the data in VigiSearch on a monthly
basis
You are now ready to perform a

search based on your selection
WHO Drug Dictionary VigiFlow

The WHO Drug Dictionary is available via VigiFlow
Amount of data depends on agreement with National
Authority
VigiFlow is up to date with the latest WHO Drug

Dictionary content
Usually updated with new entries once per week
This is the level to select

when you only know the
tradename of the drug (or
the substance).
Select this level when you

know the tradename of
the drug as well as maholder and/or country.
Select this level when you

know the tradename, maholder, country as wel as
form and/or strength.
WHO Drug Dictionary

DD Browser
The DD Browser is a web based tool primarily
designed for the purpouse of searching the WHODD
Unlike the browsers in VigiFlow and VigiSearch where they
are integrated in the tools
Provides a more powerful and flexible way of

searching and looking at the data
Here are a few screenshots but the DD Browser tool
will not be presented in detail...
Example illustrating the search of single ingredient
Example illustrating the search of single ingredient
Example illustrating the search of single ingredients
WHO Collaborating Centre for

International Drug Monitoring
Box 1051, SE - 751 40 Uppsala Sweden Tel
+46 18 65 60 60, Fax +46 18 65 60 88
E-mail: info@who-umc.org
Website: www.who-umc.org

3 Who Drug Dictionary

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

3 Who Drug Dictionary

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

3 Who Drug Dictionary

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

What is the purpose of the WHO Drug Dictionary?

What is the purpose of the WHO Drug Dictionary?

What classifications are used in the WHO Drug Dictionary?

What classifications are used in the WHO Drug Dictionary?

WHO Drug Dictionary

Magnus Wallberg, UMC

Magnus Wallberg, UMC

Magnus Wallberg, UMC

The WHO Drug Dictionary

Information is provided in a consistent and

Magnus Wallberg, UMC

Magnus Wallberg, UMC

Medicinal product names

Magnus Wallberg, UMC

Multiple ingredient drugs

Magnus Wallberg, UMC

Types of medicinal products in

Magnus Wallberg, UMC

Codes and IDs

Particularly important for international exchange of

Magnus Wallberg, UMC

Codes and IDs

Medicinal Product ID identifies a unique entry

Magnus Wallberg, UMC

How do we use WHO-DD

With the WHO-DD linked to ICSRs

ICSRs according to:

Magnus Wallberg, UMC

1 Search on medicinal product level

ATC in WHO Drug Dictionary

Magnus Wallberg, UMC

ATC in WHO Drug Dictionary

Magnus Wallberg, UMC

ATC in WHO Drug Dictionary

Generic level (ingredient/s)

Proprietary name level

Valium 10mg tablet

Magnus Wallberg, UMC

ATC Classification Main Groups

Magnus Wallberg, UMC

Magnus Wallberg, UMC

1 Search on medicinal product level

Magnus Wallberg, UMC

Brand name Medicinal

Magnus Wallberg, UMC

Magnus Wallberg, UMC

How to access the WHO-DD

Via online tools:

The methods for access is somewhat different

WHO Drug Dictionary VigiSearch

VigiSearch is up to date with all medicinal products

Magnus Wallberg, UMC

WHO Drug Dictionary VigiSearch

Magnus Wallberg, UMC

WHO Drug Dictionary VigiSearch

Magnus Wallberg, UMC

Magnus Wallberg, UMC

You are now ready to perform a

Magnus Wallberg, UMC

WHO Drug Dictionary VigiFlow