New website launched Our new website is here. Find out more

Senior Lecturer Ruth Savage

MB BS MSc (U Newcastle upon Tyne)

Email ruth.savage@otago.ac.nz
Tel +64 3 364 3603

Ruth has been Senior Lecturer in the Department of General Practice since 2009. She undertakes research in adverse drug reaction monitoring (pharmacovigilance) and rational prescribing and has experience in pharmacoepidemiology studies.

Ruth is responsible for part of the undergraduate general practice teaching modules and is also involved in postgraduate teaching to general practitioners and other health professionals where she emphasises the need to recognize adverse drug reactions and strategies to avoid them or minimise the harm they may cause. The relevance of her teaching and research to clinical practice is in large part due to her extensive clinical experience primarily in rural general practice and also rheumatology.

Ruth is also Senior Medical Assessor in the Centre for Adverse Reactions Monitoring (CARM), New Zealand Pharmacovigilance Centre, Dept of Preventive and Social Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin where a high proportion of the suspected adverse reaction reports submitted by health professionals are from primary care. She is also an expert advisor to the New Zealand Medicines Adverse Reactions Committee.

As a consultant to the Uppsala Monitoring Centre, WHO Collaborating Centre for International Drug Monitoring, Uppsala, Sweden Ruth also undertakes research and provides training in international pharmacovigilance.

Research Interests

  • Pharmacovigilance and Rational Prescribing
  • Detection of previously unrecognized adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and interactions in national and international databases of ADR reports.
  • Assessing if the outputs from automated methods of detecting suspected adverse reactions from large databases are clinically relevant.
  • Assessment of ADR case reports to determine risk factors for individual ADRs.
  • Assessment of ADR case reports to determine if prescribing behaviour has allowed specific ADRs or interactions to occur and how this can be modified.

Summer Student Supervision

2017-18

Jamie Go
Topic: Diabetes care in general practice - Access to the Retinal Screening Pathway
Supervisor(s): Dr Ruth Savage and Deborah Callahan
Sponsor: Pegasus Health (Charitable) Trust

2015-16

Anna Hulme
Topic: Evaluation of a Telephone Based Brief Intervention Model for Smoking Cessation
Supervisor(s): Leigh Aston and Dr Ruth Savage
Sponsor: Pegasus Health (Charitable) Trust

2012-13

Lucy Peterson
Topic: Reducing barriers to practice nurse involvement in general cervical screening and understanding effective methods of inviting and engaging priority women in cervical screening in general practice.
Supervisors Ruth Savage, Kim Burgess, Jackie Cooper
Sponsor: Partnership Health Canterbury PHO

2011-12

Nicole Sycamore
Topic: Drug utilisation study of paracetamol in the community in children aged under twelve years through paracetamol questionnaires.
Supervisors: Ruth Savage, Kathryn Henshaw
Sponsor: Pegasus Health

2010-11

Talia Wise
Topic: Why do General Practitioners and practice nurses differ in their behaviours and attitudes towards performing and coding of CVD risk assessment?
Supervisors: Ruth Savage, Pip Mason
Sponsor: Partnership Health Canterbury

Publications

Rudolph, A., & Savage, R. (2023). Vulval aphthous ulcers in adolescents following COVID-19 vaccination: Analysis of an international case series. Journal of Pediatric & Adolescent Gynecology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.jpag.2023.03.006
Journal - Research Article
Savage, R. L. (2022). The value of complementary approaches to causality assessment for individual case safety reports: The example of Artemisia annua and hepatotoxicity. In J. Barnes (Ed.), Pharmacovigilance for herbal and traditional medicines. (pp. 211-220). Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-07275-8
Chapter in Book - Research
Savage, R., Vidlin, S. H., Grundmark, B., Rocca, E., & Gauffin, O. (2021). Remdesivir and renal injury: Interpreting global case safety reports in the context of COVID-19 infection. Proceedings of the 6th Pharmacoepidemiology Research Network Symposium. (pp. 11-12). Retrieved from https://www.otago.ac.nz/pharmacoepidemiology
Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract
Wilson, G., Windner, Z., Bidwell, S., Dowell, A., Toop, L., Savage, R., & Hudson, B. (2021). Navigating the health system during COVID-19: Primary care perspectives on delayed patient care. New Zealand Medical Journal, 134(1546), 17-27. Retrieved from https://www.nzma.org.nz/journal
Journal - Research Article
Wilson, G., Windner, Z., Bidwell, S., Currie, O., Dowell, A., Halim, A. A., Toop, L., Savage, R., Ranaweera, U., Beadel, H., & Hudson, B. (2021). 'Here to stay': Changes to prescribing medication in general practice during the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand. Journal of Primary Health Care, 13(3), 222-230. doi: 10.1071/hc21035
Journal - Research Article
Savage, R. L. (2022). The value of complementary approaches to causality assessment for individual case safety reports: The example of Artemisia annua and hepatotoxicity. In J. Barnes (Ed.), Pharmacovigilance for herbal and traditional medicines. (pp. 211-220). Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-07275-8
Chapter in Book - Research
Rudolph, A., & Savage, R. (2023). Vulval aphthous ulcers in adolescents following COVID-19 vaccination: Analysis of an international case series. Journal of Pediatric & Adolescent Gynecology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.jpag.2023.03.006
Journal - Research Article
Rocca, E., Gauffin, O., Savage, R., Vidlin, S. H., & Grundmark, B. (2021). Remdesivir in the COVID-19 pandemic: An analysis of spontaneous reports in VigiBase during 2020. Drug Safety, 44, 987-998. doi: 10.1007/s40264-021-01091-x
Journal - Research Article
Russom, M., Fitsum, Y., Abraham, A., & Savage, R. L. (2021). Diclofenac and the risk of rhabdomyolysis: Analysis of publications and the WHO Global Pharmacovigilance Database. Drugs: Real World Outcomes, 8, 263-275. doi: 10.1007/s40801-021-00240-z
Journal - Research Article
Wilson, G., Currie, O., Bidwell, S., Saeed, B., Dowell, A., Halim, A. A., Toop, L., Richardson, A., Savage, R., & Hudson, B. (2021). Empty waiting rooms: The New Zealand general practice experience with telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. New Zealand Medical Journal, 134(1538), 89-101. Retrieved from https://www.nzma.org.nz/journal
Journal - Research Article
Wilson, G., Windner, Z., Bidwell, S., Currie, O., Dowell, A., Halim, A. A., Toop, L., Savage, R., Ranaweera, U., Beadel, H., & Hudson, B. (2021). 'Here to stay': Changes to prescribing medication in general practice during the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand. Journal of Primary Health Care, 13(3), 222-230. doi: 10.1071/hc21035
Journal - Research Article
Wilson, G., Windner, Z., Bidwell, S., Dowell, A., Toop, L., Savage, R., & Hudson, B. (2021). Navigating the health system during COVID-19: Primary care perspectives on delayed patient care. New Zealand Medical Journal, 134(1546), 17-27. Retrieved from https://www.nzma.org.nz/journal
Journal - Research Article
Hegerius, A., Caduff-Janosa, P., Savage, R., & Ellenius, J. (2020). E-learning in pharmacovigilance: An evaluation of microlearning-based modules developed by Uppsala Monitoring Centre. Drug Safety, 43, 1171-1180. doi: 10.1007/s40264-020-00981-w
Journal - Research Article
Kuan, I. H. S., Savage, R. L., Duffull, S. B., Walker, R. J., & Wright, D. F. B. (2019). The association between metformin therapy and lactic acidosis. Drug Safety, 42, 1449-1469. doi: 10.1007/s40264-019-00854-x
Journal - Research Article
Maggo, S. D. S., Savage, R. L., & Kennedy, M. A. (2016). Impact of new genomic technologies on understanding adverse drug reactions. Clinical Pharmacokinetics, 55(4), 419-436. doi: 10.1007/s40262-015-0324-9
Journal - Research Article
Savage, R. L., Zekarias, A., & Caduff-Janosa, P. (2015). Varenicline and abnormal sleep related events. Sleep, 38(5), 833-837. doi: 10.5665/sleep.4686
Journal - Research Article
Harrison-Woolrych, M., Maggo, S., Tan, M., Savage, R., & Ashton, J. (2012). Cardiovascular events in patients taking varenicline: A case series from intensive postmarketing surveillance in New Zealand. Drug Safety, 35(1), 33-43. doi: 10.2165/11597690-000000000-00000
Journal - Research Article
Savage, R. L., Star, K., & Hill, R. (2012). Severe muscle symptoms with lipid-lowering agents may be confused with neurogenic claudication associated with spinal canal stenosis. International Journal of Risk & Safety in Medicine, 24(4), 215-219. doi: 10.3233/jrs-2012-0577
Journal - Research Article
Savage, R. L., Kunac, D. L., & Johansson, J. (2009). Appraising the post-marketing safety of medicines: A description of national and international pharmacovigilance with a focus on medicines used in chronic pain. Current Anaesthesia & Critical Care, 20(5-6), 215-220. doi: 10.1016/j.cacc.2009.07.013
Journal - Research Article
Gwynne Jones, D. P., Savage, R. L., & Highton, J. (2008). Alendronate-induced synovitis. Journal of Rheumatology, 35(3), 537-538.
Journal - Research Article
Jenks, K. A., Stamp, L. K., O'Donnell, J. L., Savage, R. L., & Chapman, P. T. (2007). Leflunomide-associated infections in rheumatoid arthritis. Journal of Rheumatology, 34, 2201-2203.
Journal - Research Article
Tatley, M., & Savage, R. (2007). Psychiatric adverse reactions with statins, fibrates and ezetimibe: Implications for the use of lipid-lowering agents. Drug Safety, 30(3), 195-201.
Journal - Research Article
Savage, R. L., Highton, J., Boyd, I. W., & Chapman, P. (2006). Pneumonitis associated with leflunomide: A profile of New Zealand and Australian reports. Internal Medicine Journal, 36, 162-169.
Journal - Research Article
Gwynne Jones, D., Savage, R., & Highton, J. (2005). Synovitis induced by alendronic acid can present as acute carpal tunnel syndrome. BMJ, 330, 7482, 74. doi: 10.1136/bmj.330.7482.74
Journal - Research Article
Savage, R. (2005). Cyclo-oxygenase-2 inhibitors: When should they be used in the elderly? Drugs & Aging, 22(3), 185-200.
Journal - Research Article
Savage, R. (2005). Thiazolidinediones and lowered high density lipoprotein cholesterol. WHO Signal, February, 6-8.
Journal - Research Article
Coulter, D. M., Clark, D. W., & Savage, R. (2003). Celecoxib, rofecoxib, and acute temporary visual impairment. British Medical Journal, 327, 1214-1215.
Journal - Research Article
Savage, R. (2002). Loratadine. WHO Pharmaceuticals Newsletter, (2), 12.
Journal - Research Article
Savage, R. (2002). Proton pump inhibitors. WHO Pharmaceuticals Newsletter, (2), 12.
Journal - Research Article
Savage, R., & Coulter, D. M. (2000). Oral contraceptives and venous thromboembolism [Letter]. New Ethicals Journal, 24.
Journal - Research Article
Back to top