Tag: prescription drugs
Gosport hospital deaths could have been avoided
According to an independent report, 450 Gosport hospital deaths could have been avoided after life-shortening opioids were reportedly given to elderly patients who did not need them.
The damning report found that a GP working at the hospital, Dr Jane Barton, routinely overprescribed drugs to patients in the 1990s, and consultants who were aware of her actions did not intervene. Further, nurses and pharmacists would have known that the high levels of opioids administered would not always have been appropriate, and they too failed to stop the deaths.
After years of the families campaigning and suffering over the Gosport hospital deaths, the report has finally confirmed what they already knew.
Calls for UK inquiry into sodium valproate epilepsy drug
There are calls for a UK inquiry into the sodium valproate epilepsy drug that has been linked to birth defects and developmental issues in children.
It’s also understood that UK health professionals were warned about the dangers of people using sodium valproate epilepsy drugs, but little seems to have been done – especially in the past – to ensure users were informed of the risks and were able to make decisions as to the use of the drug.
There are also questions over whether the drug should be classed as safe at all, and the HSE is reportedly looking at the issue. We may see a UK inquiry into the side-effects soon.
All hormonal contraception like ‘the pill’ can still increase breast cancer risks
It has been reportedly known for a while that forms of hormonal contraception like ‘the pill’ have been linked with increased risks of women developing breast cancer. However, despite hopes of improvements, a new study involving millions of women over a period of years has reaffirmed the apparent risks associated with contraception and cancer.
Studies have found that the increased risks of breast cancer can remain until five years after hormonal contraception has been stopped as well.
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MHRA issue “Class 4” drug alert warning for Focus Pharmaceuticals after barcode errors found on 8 medicinal products
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued a Class 4 (caution in use) warning over eight Focus Pharmaceutical medicinal products after a problem was found with the barcodes.
The packaging fault may interfere with prescriptions as the wrong product may be identified when they’re scanned.
The medicines themselves have no reported faults and the rest of the packaging including the name, strength and pharmaceutical form of the medicine is correct as far as the manufacturer and the MHRA are aware.
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Suicide statistics may have allegedly been incorrectly reported in drug trials
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is currently engaged in a fierce legal battle over its antidepressant pill, Paxil (Seroxat in the U.K.).
Marketed as an antidepressant, Paxil is supposed to reduce the risk of suicide in users.
When it was first made for production, GSK conducted clinical trials to test how effective the drug was. In 1989, it presented the drug to regulators along with the results that indicated Paxil was much safer than taking a placebo.
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Hospitals and Doctors warned over using Intercept Pharmaceuticals liver disease drug
Regulators have issued Doctors and Hospitals with a warning over Intercept Pharmaceuticals liver disease drug after 19 people have reportedly died after taking too much of it.
Regulators also noted 11 cases of serious liver injury after taking the drug as well.
The warning prompted the company’s shares to reportedly plummet down by 24.9%, to $73.70. The drop is thought to be the company’s biggest loss since November 2014, Bloomberg reports.
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Rivaroxaban recalled over rogue blister strips of reduced strength tablets
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) has announced a recall over Xarelto 20mg film-coated tablets made by Strathclyde Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Better known as Rivaroxaban, the tablets are packaged into blister strips with the weight labelled on one side.
A batch is reportedly affected by the recall following reports of rogue blister strips carrying 15mg tablets finding their way into the twin pack 20mg tablets.
The batch number in question is BXHHDR1, due to expire in September 2019. The 28-tablet packets were reportedly first distributed on 18th September 2017.
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Are we facing an “opioid epidemic”?
We’ve already acknowledged a reported over-reliance on prescription medication here in the U.K., with fears of an “opioid epidemic” in America creeping across the pond to our shores as well. Unless, it’s already here…
In what’s being described as an “epidemic” and a “crisis” in the U.S., opioids are apparently being used way too much, leading to serious and needless addictions whilst reportedly lining the pockets of the super-rich pharmaceutical corporations.
We look at this growing problem and comment on why we ought to be concerned.
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