RxNorm Drug Search¶
Searches the RxNorm database for drug concepts by name and returns the full search payload, the list of RxCUI identifiers, and a status message. Supports toggling whether to consider all term types versus only active terms.
Usage¶
Use this node when you need to resolve a drug name into its RxNorm identifiers (RxCUIs) and inspect the raw search results. It typically serves as the first step in RxNorm-driven workflows, where the returned RxCUIs are fed into downstream nodes for concept details, related concepts, or interaction checks.
Inputs¶
| Field | Required | Type | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| drug_name | True | STRING | The drug name to look up in RxNorm. Leading and trailing whitespace is ignored; must not be empty. | acetaminophen |
| search_all_terms | True | BOOLEAN | If true, searches all available term types in RxNorm; if false, restricts to active or preferred terms. | false |
Outputs¶
| Field | Type | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| search_results | STRING | A JSON-formatted string containing the search summary and the raw RxNorm response. Includes the original search term, the flag used, and the results object. | { "search_term": "acetaminophen", "search_all_terms": false, "results": { "idGroup": { "name": "acetaminophen", "rxnormId": ["161"] } } } |
| rxcui | STRING | A JSON-formatted string representing the list of RxCUI identifiers extracted from the search results. | ["161"] |
| status | STRING | Human-readable status message indicating success or error details. | Successfully searched for 'acetaminophen' in RxNorm |
Important Notes¶
- Input validation: The drug_name must not be empty. If empty, the node returns '{}' for search_results, '[]' for rxcui, and an error status.
- API error handling: If the underlying RxNorm request returns an error, the node outputs the error payload in search_results, an empty list for rxcui, and a status prefixed with 'API Error:'.
- Output format: All outputs are strings. search_results and rxcui are JSON-encoded strings; parse them if you need structured data downstream.
- Search scope: The search_all_terms flag changes the scope of what RxNorm considers (e.g., broader term sets when true). Results and returned RxCUIs may differ based on this setting.
- Result shape dependency: The node expects standard RxNorm response structure with idGroup.rxnormId present. If no identifiers are found, rxcui may be an empty list.
Troubleshooting¶
- Empty RxCUI list: If rxcui is '[]', verify the spelling of drug_name and consider setting search_all_terms to true to broaden the search.
- 'Error: Drug name cannot be empty': Provide a non-empty drug_name value.
- 'API Error:' status: Inspect search_results for the error details (e.g., rate limiting or connectivity). Retry later or check network configuration.
- JSON parsing issues downstream: Remember that search_results and rxcui are JSON strings. Parse them before accessing fields.