FDA Launches Open Access Portal

[DrMA]

Any Data Scientists around here?

https://open.fda.gov/

 

[ClippinWings]

no need for a "data scientist" whatever that is.

This is just a standard API... any competent web developer could cull this for any data you want...

I happen to be a competent web developer

And I just received my API key

What info do you want?

NOTE: this is going to have to be strictly limited to my spare time(which sadly is at a premium right now), but let me know what you'd like to see and I can see if I can get that data for you.

NOTE 2: data is currently limited to 'publically available drug adverse event reports'

 

[DrMA]

Thanks, ClippinWings. When you have time (I know how hard that is) the top priority for me would be a summary of adverse effects for 1) Varenicline (Chantix), 2) Bupropion (Wellbutrin/Zyban), 3) any NRT (Nicorette, Nicotrol Inhaler etc). This will show the real safety profile of FDA-approved smoking cessation drugs and contrast sharply with the excellent record of ecigs.

 

[ClippinWings]

ok, sounds good... seems to me that's probably the limit of usefulness of the current dataset anyway.

 

[Vocalek]

Thanks, ClippinWings. When you have time (I know how hard that is) the top priority for me would be a summary of adverse effects for 1) Varenicline (Chantix), 2) Bupropion (Wellbutrin/Zyban), 3) any NRT (Nicorette, Nicotrol Inhaler etc). This will show the real safety profile of FDA-approved smoking cessation drugs and contrast sharply with the excellent record of ecigs.

Yes, those, plus 4) the reports on adverse events from e-cigarettes, which the FDA has been collecting since 2009.

 

[DrMA]

Yes, those, plus 4) the reports on adverse events from e-cigarettes, which the FDA has been collecting since 2009.

Yes indeed. +1

I thought about including this, but it's unclear to me whether the data made public includes anything else other than FDA-approved drugs... It would certainly be worth looking for adverse events from e-cigarettes and compiling those if available. For that matter, FDA has also been collecting data on adverse effects of tobacco, and it would be nice to have those if available as well, as item #5.

 

[turner.curtis]

I also requested an API key and will start playing with the service as soon as i get the key. I will create a repository for anything I create and share it here.

 

[ClippinWings]

Yes, those, plus 4) the reports on adverse events from e-cigarettes, which the FDA has been collecting since 2009.

that appears to be not included...

we'll see.

but it specifies "drugs currently regulated by the FDA"

They say "devices" will be added "later"

 

[Berylanna]

This is one reason I'd like to see a weekly "Task" from CASAA or vaping Militia. One thing that would NOT be on the FDA sitethat I'd like to see people get (maybe each person could pick a state and year) is all nicotine-related or smoking-related calls to Poison Control from 2005 on. That means patches, gum, cigarettes, e-cigs, lozenges, AND MATCHES (which my pediatrician said were dangerously poisonous. Of my 3 syrup-of-ipecac-resulting calls to Poison Control, 1 was for cigarette butts and 1 was for matches, she sucked the heads off. The third was for an unidentified berry.) BTW, I probably called Poison Control about 20 times in all, the other 17 were non-incidents but they WERE calls. Things where they told me no problem.

 

[Vocalek]

The American Association of Poison Control Centers is not a part of the FDA. In fact, it's not a government agency. They publish an annual report, but if you want any data sliced and diced in a certain way, they want you to pay for it.

Annual reports can be downloaded here: http://www.aapcc.org/annual-reports/

The most recent report is from 2012, which reports on calls from 2011. The 2013 report will not be published until later this year. (That would be the calls from 2012).

However, they did manage to throw together a special report for the ANTZ: http://www.aapcc.org/alerts/e-cigarettes/

 

[Berylanna]

I know they're not FDA. I did find some Oklahoma statistics which, when I eyeballed them w/o a calculator in hand, appeared to show that nicotine-related calls have not gone up, but rather e-cig calls had replaced some of the NRT and cigarette calls. I bet enough FB vapers working in parallel could find things from enough states to provide us with some nice proof, and keep some of them too busy to send obscene hate mail to the FDA comments page.

 

[turner.curtis]

Here are a bunch of links that will return formatted data with a term count that you can at the least read and start to conceptualize a "word map".

https://api.fda.gov/drug/event.json...count=patient.reaction.reactionmeddrapt.exact

https://api.fda.gov/drug/event.json...count=patient.reaction.reactionmeddrapt.exact

https://api.fda.gov/drug/event.json...count=patient.reaction.reactionmeddrapt.exact

https://api.fda.gov/drug/event.json...count=patient.reaction.reactionmeddrapt.exact

https://api.fda.gov/drug/event.json...count=patient.reaction.reactionmeddrapt.exact

https://api.fda.gov/drug/event.json...count=patient.reaction.reactionmeddrapt.exact

https://api.fda.gov/drug/event.json...count=patient.reaction.reactionmeddrapt.exact

 

[turner.curtis]

A friend took the queries above wrapped them to give a prettier html output. You can see it here:
FDA Charts

 

[DaveP]

A friend took the queries above wrapped them to give a prettier html output. You can see it here:
FDA Charts

Looking at the result for nicotrol inhaler, ecigs would probably only have a few of those many side effects, all controllable by backing down on nic or frequency of usage.

 

[DrMA]

Thanks, turner.curtis. Very interesting results. Here are a few highlights:
- Nicotrol Inhaler: 207 deaths; most reports for "Drug ineffective"
- Nicorette: 4th most common reports is for "Drug ineffective"
- Wellbutrin: 900+ suicidal ideation; 484 suicide attempts; 359 completed suicides; most reports for "Drug ineffective"
- Bupropion: 1297 completed suicides, also the most reported adverse effect! + 244 deaths
- Chantix: 587 completed suicides; 3245 suicidal ideation; 456 homicidal ideation
- Vaping: 0 deaths; + AFAIK no reports of homicidal ideation

 

[Berylanna]

Thanks, turner.curtis. Very interesting results. Here are a few highlights:
- Nicotrol Inhaler: 207 deaths; most reports for "Drug ineffective"
- Nicorette: 4th most common reports is for "Drug ineffective"
- Wellbutrin: 900+ suicidal ideation; 484 suicide attempts; 359 completed suicides; most reports for "Drug ineffective"
- Bupropion: 1297 completed suicides, also the most reported adverse effect! + 244 deaths
- Chantix: 587 completed suicides; 3245 suicidal ideation; 456 homicidal ideation
- Vaping: 0 deaths; + AFAIK no reports of homicidal ideation

Wow! What about the actual completed homicides for Chantix? Like the murder case in Canada? Last I heard it was 18 a couple of years ago.

This ought to be a T-shirt or something.

But aren't Wellbutrin and/or Buprion also prescribed for other things like depression? That would make their numbers wrt nicotine smaller.

 

[DrMA]

Wow! What about the actual completed homicides for Chantix? Like the murder case in Canada? Last I heard it was 18 a couple of years ago.

This ought to be a T-shirt or something.

But aren't Wellbutrin and/or Buprion also prescribed for other things like depression? That would make their numbers wrt nicotine smaller.

It does not appear any actual homicide numbers are provided.

Bupropion is the generic name for Wellbutrin, and yes, it is one of the most widely used antidepressants, first introduced in the US in 1985. However, this exercise here is about comparing the risk profiles of all these approaches to quit smoking, and adverse reports for any drug are relevant irrespective of their prescribed use.

 

[Berylanna]

It does not appear any actual homicide numbers are provided.

Bupropion is the generic name for Wellbutrin, and yes, it is one of the most widely used antidepressants, first introduced in the US in 1985. However, this exercise here is about comparing the risk profiles of all these approaches to quit smoking, and adverse reports for any drug are relevant irrespective of their prescribed use.

When a suicide is the result of a drug being ineffective on a suicidal person that is quite different than a quit-smoking drug actively causing suicide in a normal smoker.

 

[aikanae1]

It does not appear any actual homicide numbers are provided.

Bupropion is the generic name for Wellbutrin, and yes, it is one of the most widely used antidepressants, first introduced in the US in 1985. However, this exercise here is about comparing the risk profiles of all these approaches to quit smoking, and adverse reports for any drug are relevant irrespective of their prescribed use.

Except a big difference occurs with Wellbutrin in that apx 25mg is prescribed to help with smoking cessation attempts and with depression the dose is 400mg. Big difference.

The main reason it's prescribed is to keep the blood pressure from dropping / people found that uncomfortable when they quit smoking. 25mg is just enough to compensate.

 

[rothenbj]

When a suicide is the result of a drug being ineffective on a suicidal person that is quite different than a quit-smoking drug actively causing suicide in a normal smoker.

Aw, but smoker's aren't normal,,,,,,,because they smoke.