Etminan Mahyar, Gill Sudeep, Fitzgerald Mark, Samii Ali
Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluation, Vancouver Hosptial, 7th Floor, 828 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver, B.C., Canada.
J Clin Pharmacol. 2006 Jan;46(1):6-9. doi: 10.1177/0091270005283285.
Pharmacoepidemiology is a relatively new and evolving science that attempts to quantify mainly adverse drug events and patterns of drug use in a large population. The strength of pharmacoepidemiology over randomized trials is the ability to quantify rare adverse events that may occur over long periods. Recently, discordance in the results of pharmacoepidemiologic studies has made it difficult for clinicians and policy makers to make informed drug-therapy decisions. This commentary addresses the strength of pharmacoepidemiology and the advances in the methodology of pharmacoepidemiologic studies over the years. We also discuss the potential problem of discordant results and urge pharmacoepidemiologists to develop good practice guidelines for the conduct of pharmacoepidemiologic studies.
药物流行病学是一门相对较新且不断发展的科学，它主要试图在大量人群中量化药物不良事件和药物使用模式。药物流行病学相对于随机试验的优势在于能够量化可能在长期内发生的罕见不良事件。最近，药物流行病学研究结果的不一致使得临床医生和政策制定者难以做出明智的药物治疗决策。本评论阐述了药物流行病学的优势以及多年来药物流行病学研究方法的进展。我们还讨论了结果不一致的潜在问题，并敦促药物流行病学家制定药物流行病学研究实施的良好实践指南。
