Information for medical professionals from market surveillance of medicinal products

Pharmacovigilance in the spotlight

Learning from adverse reaction reports – cases from pharmacovigilance
The purpose of this new section is to use real-life case reports from Switzerland as a reminder of possible side effects that professionals should be aware of in day-to-day clinical practice. The only way to protect patients against undesirable effects is to take account of and report medicinal product risks.

Latest contributions


22.04.2024

Oral methotrexate and risk of unintentional overdose due to medication errors

Methotrexate | overdose | pancytopenia | dose adjustment Rheumatoid arthritis | palliative therapy | stomatitis

19.02.2024

Encephalitis/meningoencephalitis after vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis (TBE)

Vaccinations | tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) | basic immunisation | booster | Swiss vaccination plan

22.12.2023

Oral contraceptives and depression

Hormonal contraceptives | depression | estradiol | dienogest

17.11.2023

Hypotonic-hyporesponsive episode and basic immunisation in infants

infants | vaccinations | hypotonia | hyporesponsive episode | apathy | HHE | basic immunisation | Swiss vaccination plan

29.09.2023

Parenteral iron products and hypophosphataemia

iron products | ferric carboxymaltose | parenteral iron | hypophosphataemia.

11.08.2023

Tizanidine and clinically relevant interactions

Tizanidine | Sirdalud | pharmacokinetic interactions | drug interactions | muscle relaxant | antispasmodic agent | CYP1A2 inhibitors | fluvoxamine | ciprofloxacin

07.07.2023

Betaseptic and burns

Betaseptic | skin disinfection | burn | propanol | ethanol | povidone-iodine

01.06.2023

Combined hormonal contraceptives (CHC) and thromboembolic events

Contraceptive | venous thrombosis | pulmonary embolism | drospirenone | chlormadinone acetate

09.05.2023

Metamizole and agranulocytosis

Novalgin | metamizole | agranulocytosis

11.04.2023

Loperamide and intentional overdose

Loperamide | overdose | drug dependency | opiate withdrawal symptoms | QT interval

08.02.2023

Drug-induced pancreatitis

Pancreatitis | Ozempic | semaglutide | Imurek | azathioprine | isotretinoin

26.11.2022

Fluoroquinolones and tendon inflammation/ruptures

Fluoroquinolones | moxifloxacin | iprofloxacin | levofloxacin | tendon rupture | Achilles tendon

21.11.2022

Amiodarone and hyperthyroidism

Hyperthyroidism | amiodarone | thyroiditis | iodine level

Swissmedic Vigilance-News

Topical aspects of medicinal product risk assessment
Twice a year, the Safety of Medicines Division reports on current topics relating to adverse reaction surveillance and the evaluation of safety signals. Swissmedic's "Vigilance News" appears twice a year as an online resource.

Current Editions


28.11.2023

Swissmedic Vigilance-News Edition 31

In this edition:

  • Pregnancy outcomes after GLP-1 agonist exposure in early pregnancy
  • Drug-induced pancreatitis
  • Febuxostat and azathioprine: a rare interaction
  • Kounis syndrome: a less familiar ADR
  • Statistical Review 2022

Previous issues


30.05.2023

Swissmedic Vigilance-News Edition 30

In this edition:

  • Checkpoint inhibitors: pregnancy-related outcomes
  • JAK inhibitors: risk minimisation / dosage individualisation
  • COVID-19 vaccines: myocarditis in elderly patients / adverse reactions after vaccination with bivalent vaccines
  • Haemovigilance: incorrect blood component transfused and near misses

22.11.2022

Vigilance-News Edition 29

In this edition:

  • Reports of urticaria after booster vaccination with Spikevax
  • Contrast-induced neurotoxicity
  • Swiss Haemovigilance System: Regulatory aspects and transfusion reactions
  • Statistical Review 2021: Pharmacovigilance for human medicinal products, vaccinovigilance, vigilance for veterinary medicinal products

23.05.2022

Vigilance-News Edition 28

In this edition:

COVID-19 immunisation:

  • Modification of the Information for healthcare professionals since authorisation
  • Myocarditis, thromboembolic events, multiple sclerosis
  • Persistent headache
  • Methods of signal detection / ”Observed versus expected” analyses

29.11.2021

Vigilance-News Edition 27

In this edition:

COVID-19 immunisation:

  • Myocarditis/pericarditis: Case reports received by Swissmedic
  • Menstrual disorders – facts, possible causes, unanswered questions
  • Recent study findings and recommendations
    for vaccination of pregnant women
  • International cooperation
    in the area of pharmacovigilance

29.06.2021

Vigilance-News Edition 26

In this edition:

  • COVID-19 vaccines: reporting suspected side effects correctly
  • Case report “COVID arm”
  • AEFI after immunisation with COVID-19 vaccines: Herpes zoster, neuralgic amyotrophy, immune thrombocytopenia

All issues