The need for coding systems, particularly those linked with medical terminology and the history and characteristics of a number of the commercial dictionaries which have been embraced both by industry and by drug regulatory agencies are reviewed. Particular attention is given to the origin of MedDRA which dates back to 1993, with further work culminating in the acceptance of MedDRA as a new international standard endorsed by ICH. There follows a concise overview of the structure, use and maintenance of MedDRA, highlighting the expected advantages in comparison with existing commercial and indeed some in-house coding schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]
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