Serious and unexpected adverse drug reactions – the ‘black swans’ of pharmacovigilance – can place enormous strain on safety monitoring systems. Drawing examples from the COVID-19 pandemic, François Montastruc from Toulouse University Hospital explains how we can get better at dealing with the unexpected.Tune in to find out:What Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s ‘black swan’ theory has to do with pharmacovigilanceWhat makes an adverse drug reaction a black, white, or grey swan Why flexibility and communication are key to patient safetyWant to know more?Here are the research articles cited in the episode:Quality of reporting of adverse events in clinical trials of COVID-19 drugs: systematic reviewPsychiatric disorders and hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19: a VigiBase studyHepatic disorders with the use of remdesivir for COVID-19Serious bradycardia and remdesivir for COVID-19: a new safety concernOxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine-induced cerebral venous thrombosis and thrombocytopaenia: a missed opportunity for a rapid return of experienceAtypical thrombosis associated with VaxZevria® (AstraZeneca) vaccine: data from the French network of regional pharmacovigilance centresTeaching pharmacovigilance to French medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic: interest of distance learning clinical reasoning sessionsIf you enjoyed this podcast, check out these related episodes from the Drug Safety Matters archive:Reforming pharmacovigilance educationLessons in pandemic pharmacovigilanceIntuition in pharmacovigilanceJoin the conversation on social mediaFollow us on X, LinkedIn, or Facebook and share your thoughts about the show with the hashtag #DrugSafetyMatters.Got a story to share?We’re always looking for new content and interesting people to interview. If you have a great idea for a show, get in touch!About UMCRead more about Uppsala Monitoring Centre and how we work to advance medicines safety.