Living with pain
Something that I have been curious about lately is the news with Merck, the company that voluntarily withdrew Vioxx, a non-steriodal anti-inflammatory drug. My grandmother used it to deal with the pain of arthritis, and I took it after a knee reconstruction surgery 6 years ago.
Vioxx was taken off the market in September 2004 because of accusations Merck hid evidence that the drug may increase the risk of heart attack and stroke in those using the drug chronically. Many drugs list "possible heart attack and stroke" as side effects, so I wondered why Merck couldn't continue releasing the drug, just with an additional warning. Since the risk of CV problems are low, most elderly living with chronic arthritis pain consider the benefits of Vioxx to outweigh its risks. Another benefit of Vioxx is that it shows less risk of GI and intenstinal problems, unlike other pain medications.
From the information I gathered through Merck's website, a study was done to examine the effects of CV problems associated with their drug. Some myocardial infarctions were left out of the data, and questions came up about the drug. To save themselves from huge lawsuits, Merck voluntarily withdrew the drug. Earily in February they won a case in which they were being sued by the family of a Florida man who had died from a heart attack. Merck was able to prove that the man had only been taking Vioxx for a month and had several risk factors for a heart attack, including a clogged artery. The findings seem to show that short-term use of the drug does not increase CV risks.
With all of the pending lawsuits, it looks as though Vioxx is gone from the market for good. Because CV problems are so common, families are finding it much easier to blame Merck and Vioxx, rather than a patient's medical/dietary problems. Sad news for those who haven't been able to find another effective chronic pain killer.
Vioxx was taken off the market in September 2004 because of accusations Merck hid evidence that the drug may increase the risk of heart attack and stroke in those using the drug chronically. Many drugs list "possible heart attack and stroke" as side effects, so I wondered why Merck couldn't continue releasing the drug, just with an additional warning. Since the risk of CV problems are low, most elderly living with chronic arthritis pain consider the benefits of Vioxx to outweigh its risks. Another benefit of Vioxx is that it shows less risk of GI and intenstinal problems, unlike other pain medications.
From the information I gathered through Merck's website, a study was done to examine the effects of CV problems associated with their drug. Some myocardial infarctions were left out of the data, and questions came up about the drug. To save themselves from huge lawsuits, Merck voluntarily withdrew the drug. Earily in February they won a case in which they were being sued by the family of a Florida man who had died from a heart attack. Merck was able to prove that the man had only been taking Vioxx for a month and had several risk factors for a heart attack, including a clogged artery. The findings seem to show that short-term use of the drug does not increase CV risks.
With all of the pending lawsuits, it looks as though Vioxx is gone from the market for good. Because CV problems are so common, families are finding it much easier to blame Merck and Vioxx, rather than a patient's medical/dietary problems. Sad news for those who haven't been able to find another effective chronic pain killer.
posted by Anonymous at 7:41 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home