CredibleMeds is an online database launched in 2009 of information regarding serious drug-drug interactions associated with

QT prolongation QT or Qt may refer to: Businesses * The Qt Company, a Finnish software developer * QT Hotels & Resorts, an Australasian hospitality provider * QT Inc., an American bracelet manufacturer * QuikTrip, an American convenience store chain People * ...

or the potentially lethal

arrhythmia Arrhythmias, also known as cardiac arrhythmias, are irregularities in the cardiac cycle, heartbeat, including when it is too fast or too slow. Essentially, this is anything but normal sinus rhythm. A resting heart rate that is too fast – ab ...

, torsades de pointes (TdP). It also assists with measurement of the quality of healthcare delivery for the

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is a federal agency within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that administers the Medicare program and works in partnership with state governments to administer ...

, and aids in the management of patients with inherited

channelopathies Channelopathies are a group of diseases caused by the dysfunction of ion channel subunits or their interacting proteins. These diseases can be inherited or acquired by other disorders, drugs, or toxins. Mutations in genes encoding ion channels, wh ...

. The overall goal of CredibleMeds is to support efforts to improve the safe use of medicines.

History

The Arizona Center for Education and Research on Therapeutics (AZCERT) maintains the CredibleMeds database. Founded in 2000 at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

as part of a network of 14 federally-funded CERTs, AZCERT became a separate

non-profit corporation A nonprofit corporation is any legal entity which has been incorporated under the law of its jurisdiction for purposes other than making profits for its owners or shareholders. Depending on the laws of the jurisdiction, a nonprofit corporation ma ...

in 2012 funded by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), research grants, and

charitable contributions A donation is a gift for charity, humanitarian aid, or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including money, alms, services, or goods such as clothing, toys, food, or vehicles. A donation may satisfy medical needs such as bloo ...

. AZCERT focuses on

drugs A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestio ...

and

drug–drug interaction In pharmaceutical sciences, drug interactions occur when a drug's mechanism of action is affected by the concomitant administration of substances such as foods, beverages, or other drugs. A popular example of drug–food interaction is the effect of ...

s, especially those that cause

and Torsades de Pointes (TdP)

, and provides its research and its lists of drugs free of charge to the public, healthcare providers, and researchers for personal, professional, and

non-commercial A non-commercial (also spelled noncommercial) activity is an activity that is not carried out in the interest of Profit (economics), profit. The opposite is Commerce, commercial, something that primarily serves profit interests and is focused on bu ...

purposes. To maintain the independence of its work, AZCERT does not receive funding from companies that have a commercial interest in medications.

Adverse drug event analysis

AZCERT developed the Adverse Drug Event Causality Analysis (ADECA) to evaluate drugs for their risk of causing QT prolongation and TdP. As part of its ADECA reviews, AZCERT includes drugs marketed outside the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, especially in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. In addition to their use to inform healthcare decision-making, CredibleMeds’ lists of drugs have been used in research published in more than 50 scientific articles.Medsafe
Drug-induced QT prolongation and torsades de pointes - the facts
Prescriber Update 2010;31(4): 27-29. https://www.medsafe.govt.nz/profs/PUArticles/PDF/Prescriber%20Update%20Dec%202010.pdf (accessed 18 June 2019).

References

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External links

ARIZONA CERT (Center for Education and Research on Therapeutics)

Centers for Education & Research on Therapeutics (CERTs)

Credible Meds

Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP)

Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA)

Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndromes Foundation (SADS)

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP)
Online databases American medical websites Internet properties established in 2009