Last revised: August 2007

DRUG AND TOXICOLOGY INFORMATION

Scope: The purpose of this guide is to direct the user to selected sources that cover prescription and/or nonprescription drugs for the treatment of human diseases as well as some sources on toxicology. Drugs used in the treatment of animal diseases are included in sources listed in subject guides to Veterinary Medicine and Animal and Avian Science. The user of this guide should remember that drug information changes often. New drugs become available, while others are withdrawn from the market; new uses and side effects are observed. Therefore, the very latest information on some drugs may be available only from journal literature made accessible through various indexes and abstracts and related automated databases. Consult your healthcare provider if you have questions about drug information provided in these sources. For more information, e-mail the subject area specialist, Stuart Gagnon, at sgagnon@umd.edu.

The Catalog

Basic Reference Sources

• Martindale: The Complete Drug Reference. 33rd ed.
  London, England: Pharmaceutical Press, 2002.
  LOCATION: McKeldin Library Reference Stacks
  CALL NUMBER: RS141.3.M4 2002
  One of the most comprehensive listings of drugs. Previously known as Martindale: The Extra Pharmacopoeia. International in scope, it includes both prescription and nonprescription drugs.

• Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy.
  LOCATION: Networked Resources
  [http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual/]
  Provides a discussion of signs and symptoms of most medical disorders for proper diagnosis and treatment.

• Mosby's Drug Consult.
  St. Louis: Mosby, 2007.
  LOCATION: McKeldin Library Reference Stacks
  CALL NUMBER: RS55.2.P483 2007
  Intended as a reference source for the health care professional, it includes entries for all FDA-approved prescription drugs including generic products. It is organized by keyword and international brand name index. Monographs, arranged alphabetically by USAN, are officially authorized professional package inserts, augmented with data from pharmacology texts and peer-reviewed medical journals.

• Physician's Desk Reference. 61st ed. Annual.
  Oradell N.J.: Medical Economics, 2007.
  LOCATIONS: McKeldin Library Reference Desk; Chemistry Reference
  CALL NUMBER: RS75.P5 2007
  Often referred to as the PDR, this is probably the best known drug reference source in the US. However, it is a selective source with many drugs excluded. Drug descriptions are FDA required package inserts including composition, approved indications, warnings, known side effects, and dosage information. Includes indexes by brand name, type of actions, preparation, generic, chemical and manufacturer's name. There is also a color picture section of selected products arranged by manufacturer.

• Physicians' Desk Reference for Nonprescription Drugs and Dietary Supplements. 27th ed.
  Montvale, N.J.: Medical Economics, 2006.
  LOCATIONS: McKeldin Library Reference Stacks; Chemistry Reference
  CALL NUMBER: RM671.A1 P48 2006
  Includes herbs, nonprescription drugs, and dietary supplement information. Detailed descriptions, ingredients, indications, drug interactions, dosage, and administration. Full-color photographs of over-the-counter drugs. Five indexes include manufacturer, product name, product category, active ingredients, and companion (for over-the-counter drugs).

• Physican's Desk Reference Companion Guide 56th ed.
  Montvale, N.J.: Medical Economics Data, 2002.
  LOCATION: McKeldin Library Reference Stacks
  CALL NUMBER: RS75.P37 2002
  To be used in conjunction with the Physician's Desk Reference. Includes entries of more than 2,900 domestic drug products derived from FDA-sanctioned prescribing information published by PDR. There are separate indexes for drug/food and drug/alcohol interactions, side-effects, and more.

• USP DI: United States Pharmacopeia Dispensing Information. 3 vols. 27th ed.
  Englewood, CO: Micromedex, 2007.
  LOCATION: McKeldin Library Reference Stacks
  CALL NUMBER: RS141.2.U52 2007
  This annual three volume compilation was introduced by the U. S. Pharmacopeia Convention, the organization which establishes legal standards for pharmaceuticals in this country, to provide prescribing and dispensing information not found in their official compendia, The United States Pharmacopeia and The National Formulary. Arranged by class of drugs, information on precautions, side effects, and dosage can be found here for both prescription and nonprescription drugs.
  • USP DI Vol. I: Drug Information for the Health Care Professional
    
  • USP DI Vol. II: Advice for the Patient: Drug Information in Lay Language
    
  • USP DI Vol. III: Approved Drug Products and Legal Requirements

Drug Identification Sources: Handbooks

• American Drug Index.
  St. Louis, MO: Facts & Comparisons, 2005.
  LOCATION: McKeldin Library Reference Stacks
  CALL NUMBER: RS51.A44 2005
  Includes brief information about a large number of both prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. Arranged alphabetically by both trade and generic names. Although the information provided is brief, the listing is comprehensive. Also includes addresses and phone numbers of distributors.

• The Merck Index: An Encyclopedia of Chemicals, Drugs, and Biologicals. 14th ed.
  Rahway N.J.: Merck, 2006.
  LOCATIONS: McKeldin Library Reference Stacks; Chemistry Reference
  CALL NUMBER: RS51.M4 2006
  A comprehensive listing of all types of chemicals including drugs. Although the entries are brief, included are the chemical name, structural formula, description of use, references to patents and journal articles describing its preparation. Entries are accessed through its index. Also included are useful appendices such tables of CAS registry numbers, radioactive isotopes and organic named reactions.

• National Drug Code Directory.
  Rockville, MD: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Food and Drug Administration, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Office of Information Technology, Division of Data Management and Service
  LOCATION: Networked Resources
  CALL NUMBER: HE20.4012
  http://www.fda.gov/cder/ndc/database/default.htm
  Drugs searchable by proprietary name, active ingredient, NDC number, and firm name.

  It is similar to the Red Book, an annual wholesale price list for pharmacists (which excludes the NDA number.)

Consumer Sources

• Rybacki, J.J., & Long, J.W. The Essential Guide to Prescription Drugs, 2006.
  New York, N.Y.: Harper-Collins Publishers, Inc., 2006.
  LOCATION: McKeldin Library Reference Stacks
  CALL NUMBER: RS51.E85 2006
  Not as comprehensive as the USP DI, this publication is nonetheless a clearly written and useful source of consumer information on drugs. Arranged by generic drug name with brand names included, entries provide the basic information such as indication and uses, administration and dosage, interactions, precautions, side effects (including those which may influence laboratory tests), and more.

• MEDLINEplus: Drug Information.
  [http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginformation.html]
  A guide to thousands of prescription and over-the-counter medications provided through MedMaster, a product of the American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP). It is browsable by the first letter of a generic or brand name drug.

• USP DI: United States Pharmacopeia Dispensing Information - Volume II: Advice for the Patient: Drug Information in Lay Language 27th ed.
  Englewood, CO: Micromedex, 2007
  LOCATION: McKeldin Library Reference Stacks
  CALL NUMBER: RS141.2.U52 vol.2 2007
  Provides information about prescription and over-the-counter drugs in everyday language. The drug entries are arranged alphabetically with generic or brand names listed in the index. The information on each drug includes a description, risks, proper use, precautions, side effects, and more.
  

Databases

• BIOSIS Previews (ISI) (1970- ) UM only
  Comprehensive database for life sciences. Includes medicine, biomedicine, biotechnology, and pharmacology. Indexes journal articles, content summaries, books and meeting abstracts, papers and posters.
  

• Biological & Medical Sciences Collection (CSA) (varies from 1964- ) UM only
  Citations and abstracts for journal articles covering the life sciences and some medicine, including AIDS, biotechnology, neurosciences, toxicology, anatomy, physiology, epidemiology, public health, population studies, and pharmacology.

• CINAHL [Cumulative Nursing and Allied Health Lit.] (EBSCOhost) (1982- ) UM only
  Citations and abstracts for nearly 800 journals, books, dissertations, standards, and educational software worldwide. Strong in nursing. Also includes speech and hearing, sports medicine, public health, alternative and complementary medicine, health education, health informatics, and aging.
  Use the CINAHL Subject Headings online.

• Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe (see Sources for dates of coverage) UM only
  Medical section contains full-text and abstracted articles from newspapers, medical and health journals and newsletters.

• MEDLINE [PubMed] (National Library of Medicine Web Site) (1963- )
  [http://www.ncbi.nih.gov]
  Comprehensive database for biomedicine. Citations, abstracts, and link-out to some full-text at publisher's Web sites. More than 5,000 medical journals and basic science journals related to medicine, including PreMEDLINE. Broad scope. Updated weekly.[Further information]

• TOXLINE (CSA) (pre-1965 - ) UM only
  Citations of journal articles, monographs, technical reports, theses, letters, meeting abstracts, papers, and reports on the toxicological, pharmacological, biochemical, and physiological effects of drugs and other chemicals.
  

• ToxNet (National Library of Medicine Web Site)
  [http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov]
  A cluster of databases containing information on toxicology, hazardous chemicals, and environmental health. For further information about each database, click on the "i" button next to its name.
  

• Tox Town (National Library of Medicine Web Site)
  [http://toxtown.nlm.nih.gov/]
  Provides an introduction to toxic chemicals and environmental health risks that may be found in everyday life.
  

Guides for Further Research

• Boorkman, Jo Anne.
  Introduction to Reference Sources in the Health Sciences. 4th ed.
  New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, 2004.
  LOCATION: McKeldin Library Reference Stacks
  CALL NUMBER: R118.6.I67 2004
  

• Snow, B. Drug Information: a Guide to Current Resources.
  Chicago, Ill.: Medical Library Association, 1999.
  LOCATION: McKeldin Library Reference Stacks; CLIS Wasserman Library Reference
  CALL NUMBER: RS91.S66 1999
  

Toxicology Sources

• Dictionary of Substances and Their Effects 7 vols.
  Cambridge, UK : Royal Society of Chemistry, c1999.
  LOCATIONS: Chemistry Reference
  CALL NUMBER: RA1193.D53 1999
  

• Hodgson, Ernest, et al. Dictionary of Toxicology.
  New York: Grove's Dictionaries, 1998.
  LOCATION: Chemistry Reference
  CALL NUMBER: RA1193.H63 1998
  

• Klaassen, Curtis D. (ed.). Casarett and Doull's Toxicology: The Basic Science of Poisons 6th ed.
  New York: McGraw-Hill, Medical Pub. Division, 2001.
  LOCATION: Chemistry Stacks
  CALL NUMBER: RA1215 .C37 2001
  

• Lewis, Richard J., Sr. Sax's Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials. 3 vols. 11th ed.
  New York, N. Y.: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 2004.
  LOCATION: Chemistry Reference
  CALL NUMBER: T55.3.H353 2004
  This is one of the best known sources of information about the toxicity of approximately 20,000 common industrial chemicals. Volume 1 serves and an index to the general chemical entries arranged by alphanumeric code in volumes 2 and 3. The indexes in volume 1 include a CAS registry cross index, a synonym cross index, and an alphabetical listing of publication codes for the cited references. The entries in volumes 2 and 3 include: a hazard rating, CAS number, molecular formula and weight, physical properties, synonyms, toxicity data with supporting cited references, consensus reports, standards and recommendations, and safety profiles.

• Lewis, Robert A. Hazardous Chemicals Desk Reference. 5th ed.
  New York: J. Wiley, 2002.
  LOCATION: EPSL Reference
  CALL NUMBER: T55.3.H3L49 2002

• Wexler, Philip, et al. (Eds.). Information Resources in Toxicology. 3rd ed.
  San Diego ; London : Academic, 2000.
  LOCATION: McKeldin Library Reference Stacks
  CALL NUMBER: RA1193.4.I54 2000
  

Drug and Pharmacy Web Sites

• American Association of Poison Control Centers
  [http://www.aapcc.org/]

• Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (FDA)
  [ http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/default.htm ]

• CenterWatch Clinical Trials Listing Service
  [http://www.CenterWatch.com/]

• Doctor's Guide to New Drugs or Indications
  [http://www.pslgroup.com/NEWDRUGS.htm]

• Maryland Poison Center
  [http://www.mdpoison.com]

• New Medicines in Development
  [http://www.phrma.org/medicines_in_development/]

• RxList - The Internet Drug Index
  [http://www.rxlist.com/]

• University of Maryland Drug Information Service
  [http://www.pharmacy.umaryland/UMDI/]

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