Note spikes in yellowcards during broadcasting BBC Panorama

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Yellow-card data suggests that adverse publicity, particularly Panorama programmes, associated with marked, short-term peaks in reporting

Analysis of yellow-card data suggests that adverse publicity, particularly the three Panorama programmes, was associated with marked, short-term peaks in reporting (Figure 2). The mean rate of yellow-card reporting (per 100 000 prescriptions) in the month before each regulatory announcement was 7.6 vs. 8.0 in the month after. In contrast, the mean rate of yellow-card reporting in the month before each media publicity episode was 8.3 vs. 13.4 in the month after. An identical pattern of peaks and troughs in yellow-card reporting of suspected adverse drug reactions to paroxetine was observed when the temporal trend in number of reports was plotted (data not shown).

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