The Journal of American Medical Association has published a report on Tuesday about a curious finding. It says that a few of the commonly prescribed and OTC crugs have caused many a patient to go rushing to the ER or even get hospitalised.
The sample data for the study consisted of patients who visited 63 hospitals during 2004 and 2005, and it was determined from this that over 700,000 Americans needed a hospital visit due to the medication they were on. It was seen that many were over 65 taking common drugs like antibiotics, warfarin and insulin.The usual complaints were abdominal pain or allergic reactions which required attention.The lead author of the report Dr.Daniel Budnitz felt that the estimated numbers were conservative. The drugs causing these adverse effects are ones that are very commonly used, so they have to be closely monitored.
The study did not include attempted suicides with drugs,drug related deaths or drug overdose. The underlying message seems to be -not to take any drug for granted in terms of its safety, take only the correct dosge and be aware of its adverse effects.
Source-Medindia
MAL
