FDA Drug Safety Reviewer Pans Five Drugs
Posted on: Thursday, 18 November 2004, 21:00 CST
Five drugs cited by the government as the worst examples of those that remain on the market despite safety concerns, along with alternate products:
-Accutane, a treatment for severe acne linked to birth defects and fetal death when used by pregnant women. Alternatives, according to March of Dimes: Topical preparations of the antibiotics erythromycin or clindamycin and the antibacterial agent benzoyl peroxide.
-Bextra, a painkiller found in a recent study to more than double the risk of heart attacks and strokes among patients with heart disease. Alternatives, according to Public Citizen: Enteric-coated aspirin or ibuprofen.
-Crestor, an anti-cholesterol drug linked to a muscle-destroying side effect and acute renal failure. Alternative statins: Lipitor, Lescol, Pravachol, Mevacor and Zocor.
-Meridia, an obesity treatment linked to heart problems and, among pregnant women, stillbirths, miscarriages and birth defects. Alternatives: There's no other diet drug that works like Meridia.
-Serevent, an asthma medication that a study in England linked to increased deaths due to asthma. Alternate FDA-approved asthma drugs: Leukotriene blockers, inhaled corticosteroids and theophylline.
Source: Associated Press/AP Online
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