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News items on 'Adverse Drug Reaction'
Patients 'at risk over drug data'
(BBC 27/10/2009)
Patients leaving hospital may be being put at risk of harmful reactions to drugs due to poor communication between hospitals and GPs, a study says. The Care Quality Commission found hospitals often failed to fully pass on details of medication after polling 280 GPs and visiting 12 NHS trusts. The regulator said it meant GPs could end up prescribing incompatible drugs. But the CQC said GPs were also at fault for not sharing data when patients were first admitted to hospital.
Perceived risk of adverse drug reactions
(Patient Information Forum 13/08/2009)
The British Journal of Health Psychology features research from two experiments involving users of the Cancer Research UK patient information website that examined the effectiveness of presenting adverse drug reaction risk information in different forms: percentages, natural frequency and verbal descriptors. The researchers found that verbal descriptions (e.g. "uncommon" or "common"), led to higher estimates of risk compared to the other two formats.
Negative thinking can make you ill
(Telegraph 14/05/2009)
Reading the side-effects on a bottle of tablets can increase your chances of having them while thinking you will die during surgery makes you more likely to do do so, research has shown. "The idea that believing you are ill can make you ill sounds far-fetched, yet rigorous trials have established beyond a doubt that the converse is true - the power of suggestion can improve health," reported New Scientist magazine.
GPs warn on internet drug sales
(BBC 16/04/2009)
Doctors have warned of the perils of buying medicines over the internet. One in four GPs polled said they had treated patients for adverse reactions to medicines bought online. A further 8% suspected they had treated side-effects of internet-bought drugs, the snapshot survey of 420 doctors carried out by GP magazine found. Pharmacist leaders urged the public to be aware of the risks of internet medicines and use bone fide sites which require a prescription.
How that 'healthy' fruit juice could give you liver failure- or worse
(Daily Mail 02/03/2009)
When the cat allergy I suffered as a teenager seemed to have reappeared at the end of last year, I went to the GP for advice. I couldn't face the prospect of getting rid of my beloved moggy, so I wanted an allergy test to see if he really was the problem. While I waited for an appointment for the test, my GP prescribed the non-drowsy antihistamine Fexofenadine hydrochloride and told me, in a casual way, to avoid grapefruit juice.
Hospital drug reactions 'common'
(BBC 11/02/2009)
One in seven hospital patients experience adverse drug reactions, half of which are completely avoidable, a study found. The Liverpool University-led research followed more than 3,000 patients over a six-month period. The study found complications ranging from constipation to internal bleeding - and in a few cases death.
Drug error 'communication link'
(BBC 25/04/2008)
Poor communication is most often to blame for people ending up in hospital as a result of "medication errors", research shows.
Counterfeit medicines: the pills that kill
(Telegraph 05/04/2008)
The multi-billion-pound global trade in bogus medicines is responsible for an estimated half a million deaths a year. As Europe becomes an ever-more lucrative target for counterfeiters, Eric Clark meets the government agents and pharmaceutical company investigators who are taking the fight to the fakers.
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