Dynamic database of drugs

Drug databases are portals that offer comprehensive knowledge and references about all approved drugs and other drugs, the data being extracted from many standard books, online sources and various Pharmacological Journals. Introduction Finding information by way of searching literature is an integral part of research. It is also an indispensable part of practicing evidence based medicine. In past, searching for information regarding any particular drug involved mainly thorough skimming of textbooks and journals, which was either expert librarian mediated process or a more direct and laborious end user searching. Printed materials and continuous updates thereof thus comprised the dynamic knowledge base e.g. The government pharmacopoeias like BNP, IP etc. Standard textbooks Periodicals and journals like drugs, NEJM etc Handbooks like CIMS, drug formularies etc Package inserts etc.

While printed materials are still widely used and subscribed to, in all practical sense , the term dynamic database of drugs refers to the continuously updated databases in electronic media i.e internet that provide information and all relevant resources to the clients. Types of dynamic database of drugs : 1. Curated : i.e developed, edited or pared by one or more persons with domain expertise who add value to the final product 2. Non-curated 3. Commerial 4. Public While many databases offer information on the physical, chemical, and biological properties of drugs including pharmacokinetic, and pharmacodynamics data, some of them also provide additional information that is influenced by the target user of the website: Information on dose, dosages, routes of administration ,indications, contraindications , drug interactions and other prescribing information for the prescriber and health care providers eg Micromedex, Monthly Prescribing Reference etc o Also computerized drug prescription systems eg OPADE

A general description with drug prices, counseling advices, directions for use, side effects, dietary instructions ,storage instructions, advices for emergency and overdosages etc directed to non medical personnels including patients eg Rx Med, Medline Plus Databases hosted by national or international regulatory bodies with comprehensive information on drugs approved by the same body including informations on IND and NCE eg Drugs FDA, Orange book , Drug Product Database Canada etc Databases offering bioinformatics and cheminformatics resource, genetic, genomic, molecular and cellular phenotype data, Drug target information etc directed for researchers, scholars, drug developers / manufacturers and experts in the field eg DrugBank PharmGKB PubChem IUPHAR database etc Specific databases o Disease specific eg AIDS/HIV Drug Database, Pregnancy and Lactation; Drugs in o General Prescribing Information; Herbals eg Herb Directory Index o Informational Resource; New Drugs / Pipeline eg Newly Approved Drug Therapies

Importance of electronic dynamic database of drugs: 1. Continuously updated quality data for rational prescribing available to professionals; 2. Majority being free, cheap and cost effective. Saves time as bypasses visit to the library or manual search. 3. Regulatory websites provide Reliable source of information for therapeutic decision making. 4. Ready reckoner / handbook that is Continuously available at any time , any place via internet through Laptop/PDA/ Cellphone/Tablets etc 5. Extra information and answers to the queries for patients/consumers with knowledge about compliance, side effects etc which is not possible from time limited appointments to the health care provider. 6. Cheap and easy access to all required information critical to research and drug development, as well for literature reviews, peer reviews etc. 7. Regular warnings/alerts/ and important events,changes etc notified by automatic emails/messages etc to keep the users up to date . Some problems of dynamic drug databases 1. Information being vast and non-librarian mediated, it is easy to waste considerable time surfing the net to find required data. 2. Credibility of all websites are not established; many may host false/backdated/ or manufacturer backed misleading data.

3. Can create unnecessary confusion and dilemmas in consumers/patients by listing rare side effects along with common ones ; as majority of the sites meant for professionals also allow free access to lay man, they may encourage self-administration of drugs or non-compliance by the patient. 4. Some websites providing specialized data require monetary subscription that may be expensive even for institutional libraries. 5. May require considerable expertise in computer use and information technology. Examples 1. Drugs@FDA : allows you to search for official information about FDA approved brand name and generic drugs and therapeutic biological products. Main uses of Drugs@FDA are: a. finding labels for approved drug products b. finding generic drug products for a brand name drug product c. viewing the approval history of a drug etc 2. DrugBank: The DrugBank database is a unique bioinformatics and cheminformatics resource that combines detailed drug (i.e. chemical, pharmacological and pharmaceutical) data with comprehensive drug target (i.e. sequence, structure, and pathway) information. 3. Drug Product Database: The DPD contains product specific information on drugs approved for use in Canada. The database is managed by Health Canada contains approximately 15,000 products . 4. IUPHAR : The IUPHAR database is a database of human drug targets. Printed drug databases: many of the traditional printed databases are still commonly referred to and even preferred by many users over their electronic counterparts. They may be more comfortable to use and more familiar, and sometimes believed to be more reliable by respective users. Drawbacks are many, including considerable time lapses in between updates,limited information, price issues, portability issues etc Pharmacopoeias : eg Indian pharmacopoeia , The International Pharmacopoeia They are still widely accepted and one of the primary reliable source of drug information updated at an interval of few years. Drug References : eg Martindale: The Complete Drug Reference providing information similar to pharmacopoeias. Drug Handbooks : pocket size manuals or books acting as portable ready reckoners, widely used by physicians in day to day practice eg Physicians desk Reference, CIMS India: updated quarterly or yearly.