[Mis à jour, 28/11/2020] Each year, Prescrire updates its balance sheet of drugs to be excluded from care. Following this analysis, certain drugs are added, others are withdrawn, either because their marketing was stopped by decision of the company or a health authority, or the time of a re-examination of their benefit-risk balance. by Prescrire, subject to change by new data. Here are the main changes between the 2020 report and the 2021 report.
For the 9th consecutive year, the Prescribe medical journal publishes a report “of drugs to be discarded for better treatment”. This report identifies the drugs that it considers more dangerous than useful and that it recommends to avoid care.
This year, 112 drugs “whose benefit-risk balance is unfavorable in all clinical situations” were discarded, including 93 marketed in France. “These drugs, which are more dangerous than useful, are the causes of death, hospitalizations and serious or very annoying harmful effects, which are largely preventable,” Prescrire emphasizes. “But these are not necessarily future” Mediator “at the center of health scandals” adds the medical journal.
Diabetes: gliflozins among the drugs to be avoided
Glifozin drugs have been prescribed for the treatment of type 2 diabetes since 2010. They were blacklisted 2019 from Prescribing, were given the benefit of the doubt last, and are now on the list. again on the list of drugs with an unfavorable benefit-risk balance. It is :
canagliflozin (Invokana and associated with metformin in Vokanamet) dapagliflozin (Forxiga, combined with metformin in Xigduo and combined with saxagliptin in Qtern) empagliflozin (Jardiance, combined with metformin in Synjardy and combined with linagliptin in Glyxambi) ertugliflozin (Steglatro; combined with metformin in Segluromet and combined with sitagliptin in Steglujan).
6 new drugs to rule out in 2021
6 new drugs have been added to the already existing list because the side effects to which they expose are either disproportionate to their low effectiveness or because other less dangerous options exist.
It’s about :
- Propecia (finasteride 1 mg): prescribed for androgenic alopecia in men.
- Nootropyl (piracetam): a “vasodilator” authorized in various clinical situations including dizziness and cognitive deficits.
- Spravato (esketamine): prescribed in so-called resistant depression.
- Elidel (pimecrolimus): prescribed for atopic eczema.
- Evenity (romosozumab): prescribed for severe postmenopausal osteoporosis.
- Mobic (meloxicam): a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) from the group of oxicams such as piroxicam (Feldene ° or other) and tenoxicam (Tilcotil), which had been forgotten in the previous list.
Which drugs had been ruled out in 2020?
- Maxilase (alpha-amylase): prescribed for sore throat
- Tanakan (Ginkgo biloba): prescribed for cognitive impairment in elderly patients.
- Praxilene (Naftidrofuryl): prescribed for intermittent claudication.
- Elmiron (oral pentosan polysulfate): prescribed for painful bladder syndrome.
- Vicks pectoral syrup 0.15% ° and Clarix dry cough 0.15% (pentoxyverine): prescribed in cough.
- Tilcotil (tenoxicam): a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug.
What drugs were discarded in 2019?
- Décontractyl and Décontractyl balm (mephenesin): a drug against muscle contractures.
- Toplexil (oxomemazine): a cough syrup.
- Rectogesic in local application (glyceryl rinitrate): a rectal ointment.
- Ocaliva (obeticholic acid): for the treatment of primary biliary cholangitis.
- Cimetidine: An antihistamine that “exposes significantly more drug interactions than other antihistamines”.
That year, Esmya (ulipristal), a medicine for uterine fibroids already under the supervision of the European Medicines Agency, was taken off the list. Since March 2020, its MA has been suspended due to serious hepatic risks.
Nifuroxazide (Panfurex or other), an intestinal “anti-infective” which exhibits rare but serious immunoallergic and haematological effects, was also withdrawn from the list because it is no longer marketed.
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