This is an
essay on
style. It contains the advice and/or opinions of one or more
WikiProjects on how to format and present article content within their area of interest.
This information is not a formal
Wikipedia policy or guideline, as it has not been
thoroughly vetted by the community. |
This is an advice page for the structure of drug and medication articles on Wikipedia, as established by the consensus of Wikipedia:WikiProject Pharmacology. It contains the articles naming conventions and the general recommended outline of an article, as well as useful information to bring an article to good article or featured article status.
The article title and the first name to mention in the lead should be the International Nonproprietary Name (INN) of the drug; see below. The British Approved Name (BAN) or United States Adopted Name (USAN) variant may also be mentioned. The initial brand name(s) follows, in parentheses. All drug names should be in boldface per WP:BOLDTITLE. Indicate the drug class and family and the main therapeutic uses.
The order of sections used in this guideline is recommended for readability and consistency between articles. The order suggested below is to emphasize information sought after by general readers. If you disagree with part of the style guide, please discuss changes on the talk page.
Try to avoid cloning drug formularies such as the BNF and online resources like RxList and Drugs.com. Extract the pertinent information rather than just dumping low-level facts in a big list. For example, a long list of side effects is largely useless without some idea of which are common or serious. It can be illuminating to compare the drug with others in its class, or with older and newer drugs. Do not include dose or titration information except when they are extensively discussed by secondary sources, necessary for the discussion in the article, or when listing equivalent doses between different pharmaceuticals. Wikipedia is also not an instruction manual or textbook and should not include instructions, advice (legal, medical or otherwise) or "how-to"s (see WP:NOT#HOWTO and the Wikipedia:Medical disclaimer). Finally it is important to keep in mind that we are writing a general encyclopedia, intended to be read by the lay public so it is important to make technical material as accessible as possible to a wide audience but at the same time, not reducing the value of the article to more technical readers including medical doctors, pharmacists, and scientists.
Wikipedia policy on naming convention states that, "naming should give priority to what the majority of English speakers would most easily recognize, with a reasonable minimum of ambiguity, while at the same time making linking to those articles easy and second nature." To that end, the World Health Organization International Nonproprietary Name (INN) should normally be used as the article name.
A drug article should be titled according to its International Nonproprietary Name (INN), also known as recommended International Nonproprietary Name (rINN), if one exists, except in unusual circumstances where another common name is more appropriate. [nb 1] For example, "paracetamol" and "acetaminophen" are two common names for the same analgesic, and "paracetamol" is the INN. The relevant Wikipedia article has the page name Paracetamol, and a redirect at Acetaminophen. If a compound exists in salt form, then the INN is the name of the active moiety unless it is a quaternary compound, in which case the INN consists of two parts: the cation and the anion name. For example, "chlorphenamine maleate" is the INN modified (INNM) of a common first-generation antihistamine, thus the INN of the active moiety is used as the page title: Chlorphenamine. On the other hand, tiotropium is a quaternary ammonium cation, so the INN used as the title is Tiotropium bromide. If an INN has yet to be formally listed by WHO, but a proposed INN (pINN) exists, it is considered to be equivalent to the INN with respect to this guideline.
A page should mention other names in the lead section, in boldface, and the naming reference noted if possible. Those other common names of the drug should redirect to that page. For example, the page Albuterol redirects to the page Salbutamol, which notes in the first sentence that "salbutamol" is the INN and "albuterol" is the United States Adopted Name (USAN).
INNs are published by the World Health Organization in the journal WHO Drug Information. All issues of the journal, and lists of all proposed and recommended INNs from 1955 onward, are available in PDF on the WHO website.
Since no international convention exists to guide naming of standard combination drugs, this guideline encourages the use of page titles containing the active constituents separated by the slash ("/") character. For example, the standard combination of isosorbide dinitrate and hydralazine, used to treat congestive heart failure in African Americans, is described in the page Isosorbide dinitrate/hydralazine.
Where ambiguity exists as to the order in which drugs should be listed, the British Approved Name for the combination (if one exists) or the order used by the manufacturer of the innovator brand should be used as a guide. For example, although no BAN exists for isosorbide dinitrate/hydralazine above, the manufacturer of the innovator brand "BiDil" lists the constituents in that order. Alternative names should be redirected to the chosen name. Non-standard proprietary combination preparations are discouraged, and fall outside the scope of this guideline. For example, a hypothetical "paracetamol/dextromethorphan/pseudoephedrine" page is discouraged and does not fall under this guideline.
Tasks related to this guideline can be found at Wikipedia:WikiProject Pharmacology/Workspace#Naming conventions.
Nonproprietary names are common nouns and hence should be lower case except in titles, the beginning of sentences, and in other situations that require capitalization. [1] In contrast, trade names are proper nouns and should always be capitalized.
Infoboxes should be used where appropriate. These include
{{
Infobox drug}}
– for example
Paracetamol{{
Infobox chemical}}
– for example
ICI-118,551, the chemical infobox is possibly more appropriate for research drugs for which little or no clinical data is yet availableFull instructions are available on the page for each infobox. A suitable picture for the infobox is encouraged. For drugs, the 2D structure in SVG format is preferred, but PNG is acceptable. The easiest way to populate the drugbox and protein templates is to use Diberri's template-filling web site. Search DrugBank for the drug and enter the ID [2] in this page, or search HUGO for the protein and enter the ID [3] in this page.
The ordering of section may vary depending on the article type
Primarily medication-related pages should contain information organized into the following sections, with attention to order.
Please see Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Pharmacology/General/Main sections of drug page for related discussion.
For combination drugs, the content should primarily focus on what particular effects the combination has, such as drug synergy. Regular effects of the active ingredients should be strictly summarized, with clear linking to their main articles for further reading.
Add a section listing "Agents" in the class.
For articles on agents that are primarily recreational in use a section on the "Effects" of the agent early is recommended. This may be followed by sections on "Recreational uses" and "Medical uses".
ATC codes and
ATCvet codes should be added to the drugbox. If there is more than one, use the ATC_supplemental
parameter together with the templates {{
ATC}} and {{
ATCvet}}. This ensures proper linking of the codes – to the ATC lists (
ATC code A01 etc.) as well as to the
WHO database. Recommended sorting of multiple codes:
There is currently no consensus whether codes for drug combinations should be added to articles about single drugs. If you do so, add "(combination with [[drug X]])" or the like, using the ATC_supplemental
parameter.
Drugs without an ATC(vet) code should have set ATC_prefix = none
.
APRDxxxxx
, and may be found in the page's URL.
hgnc_id=xxxx
, and may also be found in the page's URL.
This is an
essay on
style. It contains the advice and/or opinions of one or more
WikiProjects on how to format and present article content within their area of interest.
This information is not a formal
Wikipedia policy or guideline, as it has not been
thoroughly vetted by the community. |
This is an advice page for the structure of drug and medication articles on Wikipedia, as established by the consensus of Wikipedia:WikiProject Pharmacology. It contains the articles naming conventions and the general recommended outline of an article, as well as useful information to bring an article to good article or featured article status.
The article title and the first name to mention in the lead should be the International Nonproprietary Name (INN) of the drug; see below. The British Approved Name (BAN) or United States Adopted Name (USAN) variant may also be mentioned. The initial brand name(s) follows, in parentheses. All drug names should be in boldface per WP:BOLDTITLE. Indicate the drug class and family and the main therapeutic uses.
The order of sections used in this guideline is recommended for readability and consistency between articles. The order suggested below is to emphasize information sought after by general readers. If you disagree with part of the style guide, please discuss changes on the talk page.
Try to avoid cloning drug formularies such as the BNF and online resources like RxList and Drugs.com. Extract the pertinent information rather than just dumping low-level facts in a big list. For example, a long list of side effects is largely useless without some idea of which are common or serious. It can be illuminating to compare the drug with others in its class, or with older and newer drugs. Do not include dose or titration information except when they are extensively discussed by secondary sources, necessary for the discussion in the article, or when listing equivalent doses between different pharmaceuticals. Wikipedia is also not an instruction manual or textbook and should not include instructions, advice (legal, medical or otherwise) or "how-to"s (see WP:NOT#HOWTO and the Wikipedia:Medical disclaimer). Finally it is important to keep in mind that we are writing a general encyclopedia, intended to be read by the lay public so it is important to make technical material as accessible as possible to a wide audience but at the same time, not reducing the value of the article to more technical readers including medical doctors, pharmacists, and scientists.
Wikipedia policy on naming convention states that, "naming should give priority to what the majority of English speakers would most easily recognize, with a reasonable minimum of ambiguity, while at the same time making linking to those articles easy and second nature." To that end, the World Health Organization International Nonproprietary Name (INN) should normally be used as the article name.
A drug article should be titled according to its International Nonproprietary Name (INN), also known as recommended International Nonproprietary Name (rINN), if one exists, except in unusual circumstances where another common name is more appropriate. [nb 1] For example, "paracetamol" and "acetaminophen" are two common names for the same analgesic, and "paracetamol" is the INN. The relevant Wikipedia article has the page name Paracetamol, and a redirect at Acetaminophen. If a compound exists in salt form, then the INN is the name of the active moiety unless it is a quaternary compound, in which case the INN consists of two parts: the cation and the anion name. For example, "chlorphenamine maleate" is the INN modified (INNM) of a common first-generation antihistamine, thus the INN of the active moiety is used as the page title: Chlorphenamine. On the other hand, tiotropium is a quaternary ammonium cation, so the INN used as the title is Tiotropium bromide. If an INN has yet to be formally listed by WHO, but a proposed INN (pINN) exists, it is considered to be equivalent to the INN with respect to this guideline.
A page should mention other names in the lead section, in boldface, and the naming reference noted if possible. Those other common names of the drug should redirect to that page. For example, the page Albuterol redirects to the page Salbutamol, which notes in the first sentence that "salbutamol" is the INN and "albuterol" is the United States Adopted Name (USAN).
INNs are published by the World Health Organization in the journal WHO Drug Information. All issues of the journal, and lists of all proposed and recommended INNs from 1955 onward, are available in PDF on the WHO website.
Since no international convention exists to guide naming of standard combination drugs, this guideline encourages the use of page titles containing the active constituents separated by the slash ("/") character. For example, the standard combination of isosorbide dinitrate and hydralazine, used to treat congestive heart failure in African Americans, is described in the page Isosorbide dinitrate/hydralazine.
Where ambiguity exists as to the order in which drugs should be listed, the British Approved Name for the combination (if one exists) or the order used by the manufacturer of the innovator brand should be used as a guide. For example, although no BAN exists for isosorbide dinitrate/hydralazine above, the manufacturer of the innovator brand "BiDil" lists the constituents in that order. Alternative names should be redirected to the chosen name. Non-standard proprietary combination preparations are discouraged, and fall outside the scope of this guideline. For example, a hypothetical "paracetamol/dextromethorphan/pseudoephedrine" page is discouraged and does not fall under this guideline.
Tasks related to this guideline can be found at Wikipedia:WikiProject Pharmacology/Workspace#Naming conventions.
Nonproprietary names are common nouns and hence should be lower case except in titles, the beginning of sentences, and in other situations that require capitalization. [1] In contrast, trade names are proper nouns and should always be capitalized.
Infoboxes should be used where appropriate. These include
{{
Infobox drug}}
– for example
Paracetamol{{
Infobox chemical}}
– for example
ICI-118,551, the chemical infobox is possibly more appropriate for research drugs for which little or no clinical data is yet availableFull instructions are available on the page for each infobox. A suitable picture for the infobox is encouraged. For drugs, the 2D structure in SVG format is preferred, but PNG is acceptable. The easiest way to populate the drugbox and protein templates is to use Diberri's template-filling web site. Search DrugBank for the drug and enter the ID [2] in this page, or search HUGO for the protein and enter the ID [3] in this page.
The ordering of section may vary depending on the article type
Primarily medication-related pages should contain information organized into the following sections, with attention to order.
Please see Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Pharmacology/General/Main sections of drug page for related discussion.
For combination drugs, the content should primarily focus on what particular effects the combination has, such as drug synergy. Regular effects of the active ingredients should be strictly summarized, with clear linking to their main articles for further reading.
Add a section listing "Agents" in the class.
For articles on agents that are primarily recreational in use a section on the "Effects" of the agent early is recommended. This may be followed by sections on "Recreational uses" and "Medical uses".
ATC codes and
ATCvet codes should be added to the drugbox. If there is more than one, use the ATC_supplemental
parameter together with the templates {{
ATC}} and {{
ATCvet}}. This ensures proper linking of the codes – to the ATC lists (
ATC code A01 etc.) as well as to the
WHO database. Recommended sorting of multiple codes:
There is currently no consensus whether codes for drug combinations should be added to articles about single drugs. If you do so, add "(combination with [[drug X]])" or the like, using the ATC_supplemental
parameter.
Drugs without an ATC(vet) code should have set ATC_prefix = none
.
APRDxxxxx
, and may be found in the page's URL.
hgnc_id=xxxx
, and may also be found in the page's URL.