For the 10th year in a row, the journal Prescrire has published the list of drugs that it advises to exclude care “first so as not to harm patients and to avoid damage”. It is :
- drugs which, taking into account the clinical situation, expose to disproportionate risks compared to the benefits they bring;
- older drugs whose use is outdated, because other newer drugs have a more favorable benefit-risk balance;
- recent drugs, whose benefit-risk balance is less favorable than that of older drugs;
- drugs whose efficacy beyond that of a placebo is not proven, and which expose to particularly serious side effects.
This year, they are 105 drugs, including 89 prescribed in France, who have been put on the spot for one of the previous reasons. “Most often, when drug treatment seems desirable, other options have a better risk-benefit balance than these drugs to be ruled out. And in certain situations, the more prudent option is not to resort to a drug” explain those responsible for the Review.
What’s new in the 2022 list
>> A drug to be avoided: Fintepla (fenfluramine), an old amphetamine, licensed in Dravet’s disease, a rare and severe form of childhood epilepsy.
>> Drugs removed from the list: gliflozins, ciclosporin eye drops and cimetidine. Some data showing efficacy on clinical criteria led to their removal from the list despite their very heavy profile of adverse reactions.
Among the drugs pinned by the journal Prescrire, we find of course several medicines used to relieve a cough : ambroxol (Muxol or other) and bromhexine (Bisolvon), oxomemazine (Toplexil or other), which expose to disproportionate side effects or serious skin reactions. Pentoxyverine (Vicks pectoral syrup) which exposes to heart rhythm disturbances.
There are also all oral or nasal decongestants used for colds and stuffy nose which expose you to serious or even fatal cardiovascular disorders.
But also several depression medication : agomelatine (Valdoxan), citalopram (Seropram ° or other) and escitalopram (Seroplex ° or other), duloxetine (Cymbalta ° or other), milnacipran (Milnacipran Arrow ° or other) and venlafaxine (Effexor LP ° or other). Prescribing also underlines that esketamine in solution for nasal spraying (Spravato °), has a very uncertain effectiveness in so-called resistant depressions. Its neuropsychic side effects are common, including dissociation syndromes.
>> And also discover here the list of drugs that had already been discarded the three previous years.
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