3. Features
• Four-level hierarchical structure
• About 6000 terms
• Developed in English with French, Chinese,
Spanish and Portuguese translations
• Used by drug regulatory agencies and
pharmaceutical manufacturers in many countries
3
5. Structure – 2015Q1
• 23 SOCs – body organ groups
• 339 HLTs – for grouping preferred terms
• 2123 PTs – principal terms for describing ADR
• 3925 ITs – synonyms to preferred terms
5
6. Definitions and uses
• System-organ classes
High level terms same organ system
at the output side
• High level terms
PTs qualitatively similar
at the output side,
e.g. Thrombophlebitis and Thrombophlebitis superficial
represent two different preferred terms but are grouped
under Thrombophlebitis as a high level term.
6
7. 7
• Preferred terms
used to describe adverse drug reactions.
at the input side
• Included terms
terms closely related to Preferred terms.
used to assist in finding the corresponding PT
8. Record number system
• PTs
a record number (Arecno) – eg: 0363
sequence number (Seq) - eg: 001.
• Included terms get
• the same record number as their corresponding Preferred
terms,
• but with a higher sequence number.
• High level term link (HL LINK)
8
10. Critical Terms
• indicated by asterisk.
• serious disease states,
• particularly important to follow up.
• If a PT is indicated as a Critical Term, its linked ITs are
also regarded as Critical Terms.
10
13. Future of WHO-ART
• UMC collaboration with terminology MedDRA towards
having one global terminology solution.
• the final version, 2015Q1 would continue to fulfil its
purpose until a new terminology solution is available.
13
15. What is MedDRA?
Med = Medical
D = Dictionary for
R = Regulatory
A = Activities
15
16. Key Features of MedDRA
• Standardized terminology
• International scope – currently available in 11
languages including English, Spanish, French,
Chinese, and Japanese
• Developed by International Conference on
Harmonization (ICH)
• Managed by Maintenance and Support Services
Organization (MSSO) and updated bi-annually with
input from users
16
17. Key Features of MedDRA (cont)
• Structure facilitates data entry, analysis, reporting, and
electronic communication
• Large terminology with > 72,000 terms at lowest level -
allows greater specificity
• Approx. 20,000 Preferred Terms, each representing a
unique medical concept
17
18. Scope of MedDRA
18
Medical conditions
Indications
Investigations (tests, results)
Medical and surgical procedures
Medical, social, family history
Medication errors
Product quality issues
Device-related issues
Pharmacogenetic terms
Toxicologic issues
Standardized queries
Not a drug
dictionary
Not an equipment, device,
diagnostic product dictionary
Clinical trial study
design terms
Patient
demographic
terms
Frequency
qualifiers
Numerical values
for
results
Severity descriptors
IN
OUT
19. MedDRA Definition
MedDRA is a clinically-validated international medical
terminology used by regulatory authorities and the
regulated biopharmaceutical industry.
19
20. MedDRA Hierarchy
20
System Organ Class (SOC)
High Level Group Term (HLGT)
High Level Term (HLT)
Preferred Term (PT)
Lowest Level Term (LLT)
21. System Organ Classes
21
• Blood and lymphatic system disorders
• Cardiac disorders
• Congenital, familial and genetic disorders
• Ear and labyrinth disorders
• Endocrine disorders
• Eye disorders
• Gastrointestinal disorders
• General disorders and administration site
conditions
• Hepatobiliary disorders
• Immune system disorders
• Infections and infestations
• Injury, poisoning and procedural
complications
• Investigations
• Metabolism and nutrition disorders
• Musculoskeletal and connective tissue
disorders
• Neoplasms benign, malignant and unspecified
(incl cysts and polyps)
• Nervous system disorders
• Pregnancy, puerperium and perinatal
conditions
• Psychiatric disorders
• Renal and urinary disorders
• Reproductive system and breast disorders
• Respiratory, thoracic and mediastinal
disorders
• Skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders
• Social circumstances
• Surgical and medical procedures
• Vascular disorders
23. Non-Current Terms
• at the LLT level
• very vague, ambiguous, out-dated, truncated, or
misspelled
• Terms derived from other terminologies that do not fit
MedDRA rules
• Not recommended for continued use
• Retained within the terminology to preserve historical
data for retrieval and analysis
23
24. MedDRA Codes
• Each MedDRA term assigned an 8-digit numeric code
• New terms
• Renaming
• When terms are renamed, the code number is reused for the
renamed term
• for spelling errors, hyphenation, and parenthesis changes
• When HLT or HLGT terms are removed from the
terminology, they are deleted
24
28. Multi-Axial Terminology (cont)
• Allows terms to be grouped by different classifications
• Allows retrieval and presentation via different data sets
• Allows an automatic assignment of predefined term
groupings
28
29. Primary SOC allocation
• PTs are assigned to a prime manifestation site SOC
• Eg: Congenital anomalies have SOC Congenital,familial
and genetic disorders
29
30. What is new in MedDRA?
• New MedDRA versions are released in March and
September each year.
• The Current version of MedDRA is version 18.0.
31. Regulatory Status
• US FDA
• Used in several databases including FAERS (drugs and biologics),
VAERS (vaccines), and CAERS (foods, dietary supplements,
cosmetics)
• Recommended terminology for adverse event reporting in several
Proposed Rules
• Not mandatory
• Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
• Mandatory use in electronic reporting
MSSO-DI-6225-17.0.0
31
32. Regulatory Status (cont)
•European Union
• Mandatory
• EudraVigilance database
• Good pharmacovigilance practices (GVP) specifically
mention MedDRA
UMC
Using Meddra
MSSO-DI-6225-17.0.0
32
Hinweis der Redaktion
e.g. in full regulatory process:
Clinical studies
- Reports of spontaneous adverse reactions and events
- Regulatory submissions
- Regulated product information