Detecting adverse high-order drug interactions from individual case safety reports using computational statistics on disproportionality measures

Abstract: Adverse drug interactions are a critical concern in pharmacovigilance, as both clinical trials and spontaneous reporting systems often lack the breadth to detect complex drug interactions. This study introduces a computational framework for adverse drug interaction detection, leveraging disproportionality analysis on individual case safety reports. By integrating the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical classification, the framework extends beyond drug interactions to capture hierarchical pharmacological relationships. To address biases inherent in existing disproportionality measures, we employ a hypergeometric risk metric, while a Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm provides robust empirical p-value estimation for the risk associated to cocktails. A genetic algorithm further facilitates efficient identification of high-risk drug cocktails. Validation on synthetic and FDA Adverse Event Reporting System data demonstrates the method's efficacy in detecting established drugs and drug interactions associated with myopathy-related adverse events. Implemented as an R package, this framework offers a reproducible, scalable tool for post-market drug safety surveillance.