Mediator: Dr Irène Frachon is back on the attack

“We compared the results of the National Compensation Office for Victims of Medical Accidents with those of very recent epidemiological studies. It doesn’t stick ”. The Brest pulmonologist Irène Frachon, at the origin of the revelation of the Mediator affair, is not happy, and she lets it be known. In an interview published by the regional daily Le Télégramme de Brest, she is alarmed by the rate of rejection of patient compensation files by ONIAM experts and affirms that in some cases the requests are unfairly refused.

First of all, the pulmonologist recognizes that the majority of cases are rightly rejected. “We do not dispute that a majority of cases, more than half, are rightly dismissed. The reported pathologies have nothing to do with the Mediator “, she emphasizes.

However, according to Dr. Frachon, the experts would not take into account the existing studies for the remaining files. “PFor Oniam, in the files that we were able to study (82), the link between taking Mediator and the disorders observed is recognized in less than half of the cases, when the studies highlight a probability of causality greater than 90%, ”says the pulmonologist. And she adds, “this is particularly true for the less serious attacks, those for which flagrant physical evidence is lacking.”

Finally, Irène Frachon, Philippe Nicot, expert for the Haute Autorité de Santé, and Catherine Hill, epidemiologist, affirm that they will publish new overwhelming evidence against the drug from Servier laboratories, in the scientific journal La Presse Médicale, which will appear in April. “This study, which synthesizes knowledge on the Mediator and which finally accurately calculates the risk attributable to it, has been reread and validated by experts in epidemiology”, claims Irène Frachon. The Brest pulmonologist hopes that this scientific demonstration will save “hundreds of files”. This evidence should also allow the experts to “examine much more quickly” the files which are submitted to them. “At the current rate, we have calculated that Oniam will have completed its work by the end of 2018. With our method, everything can be resolved in six months. »She concludes.

As a reminder, in a point made public at the end of January, Oniam recognized that on 7,500 files filed, 836 opinions had been issued by the Office. Of these, only 64 were found to be favorable. A compensation rate of 7.6% for victims.