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POST
/
classify
Classify an adverse event
curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.meddra.co/classify \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --header 'X-API-Key: <x-api-key>' \
  --data '
{
  "description": "Patient died following anaphylactic reaction to study drug.",
  "assessments": {
    "meddra": {
      "enabled": true,
      "version": "28.1"
    },
    "seriousness": {
      "enabled": true
    },
    "severity": {
      "enabled": false,
      "systems": [
        "5-level",
        "3-level"
      ]
    }
  }
}
'
{
  "requestId": "req_01JABCD123",
  "version": "28.1",
  "results": {
    "meddraCodes": [
      {
        "value": {
          "code": "10029505",
          "term": "Dizziness",
          "level": "SOC"
        },
        "confidence": 0.94,
        "reasons": [
          "Matched synonym 'anaphylaxis'",
          "Narrative mentions severe allergic reaction"
        ]
      }
    ],
    "severity": {
      "ctcae": {
        "value": {
          "grade": 1,
          "label": "Mild"
        },
        "confidence": 0.92,
        "reasons": [
          "Narrative indicates hospitalization and life-threatening reaction"
        ]
      },
      "simple": {
        "value": {
          "grade": "mild"
        },
        "confidence": 0.87,
        "reasons": [
          "Severe rash limited self-care activities and required medical intervention."
        ]
      }
    },
    "seriousness": {
      "value": {
        "criteria": [
          "death"
        ]
      },
      "confidence": 0.95,
      "reasons": [
        "Narrative explicitly mentions 'patient died'"
      ]
    }
  }
}
Submit an adverse event narrative to receive MedDRA code predictions with optional seriousness and severity assessments. All safety assessments are AI-generated and require clinical review. Do not use as the sole basis for regulatory decisions.

When to use this endpoint

  • Trigger automated MedDRA coding proposals before safety specialists confirm case intake.
  • Auto-triage narratives with predicted seriousness/severity so life-threatening events escalate faster.
  • Feed downstream workflows (signal detection, aggregate reporting, medical review) that require structured PTs/SOCs instead of free text.

Authentication

Include the header X-API-Key: sk-<API_KEY> with every request to this endpoint. Requests without the key return 401 Unauthorized.

Assessment Types

MedDRA Code Classification

Receives ranked MedDRA code predictions based on semantic similarity to the narrative.

Seriousness Assessment (ICH E2A)

Evaluates six criteria defined by ICH E2A:
  • death: Event resulted in death
  • life_threatening: Patient at immediate risk of death at time of event
  • hospitalization: Required or prolonged inpatient hospitalization
  • disability: Persistent or significant disability/incapacity
  • congenital_anomaly: Birth defect or congenital anomaly
  • medically_important: May jeopardize patient or require intervention to prevent serious outcome
An event is considered serious if it meets ANY of these criteria. Enabled by default.

Severity Grading

CTCAE 5-Level (Grade 1-5):
  • Grade 1 (Mild): Asymptomatic or mild; no intervention needed
  • Grade 2 (Moderate): Minimal intervention indicated; limits instrumental ADL
  • Grade 3 (Severe): Medically significant; hospitalization indicated; limits self-care ADL
  • Grade 4 (Life-threatening): Urgent intervention required
  • Grade 5 (Death): Death related to adverse event
Simple 3-Level:
  • Mild: Easily tolerated; minimal discomfort; no interference with activities
  • Moderate: Causes discomfort; interferes with activities; may require intervention
  • Severe: Significant incapacity; prevents activities; requires medical intervention; may be life-threatening or result in death
Important: Seriousness ≠ Severity. Seriousness is a regulatory classification (serious/not serious), while severity measures event intensity (mild → severe → death). Example: A mild headache requiring hospitalization is serious (due to hospitalization) despite low severity.

Headers

X-API-Key
string
required

Static API key required for POST /classify, POST /labels/classify, and POST /identify requests.

Example:

"sk-<API_KEY>"

X-API-Version
string
default:1

Override the default API version. Defaults to 1.

Example:

"1"

X-MedDRA-Version
string

Target a specific MedDRA release. Defaults to the latest.

Example:

"28.0"

Body

application/json
description
string
required
Minimum string length: 1
Example:

"Patient died following anaphylactic reaction to study drug."

assessments
object

Response

Classifier results for the supplied narrative.

requestId
string
required

Unique identifier for this classification request.

Example:

"req_01JABCD123"

version
string
required

MedDRA version used for classification.

Example:

"28.1"

results
object
required