Use of Record Linkage for Drug Surveillance

Disease occurrence and mortality statistics in special groups of diseases or age may be an important source of epidemiological information (Dukes 1978 Dunne 1978 Finney 1974 Inmann and Adelstein 1969 Skegg 1978 Speizer et al. 1968). As an example, the mortality of children with asthma in England and Wales increased seven-fold from 1960 to 1966. A close correlation to the use of pressurised aerosols containing sympathomimetics was obtained (Speizer et al. 1968). The subsequent decline in mortality has resulted from a greater awareness by doctors and patients of the dangers of over-use (Inman and Adelstein 1969). 

A=patients without adverse reaction (AR) or with AR to drug as questionable or possible cause B = patients with AR (causal relationship certain or probable) the number in parentheses shows those patients with at least one allergic AR C=percentage of patients with one or more AR considered to be certain or probable the number in parentheses shows the percentage of patients with at least one allergic AR 

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