Free Republic

NEW ORLEANS — One in six elderly patients who visit an emergency department receives a potentially inappropriate medication, according to a national study. That adds up to an estimated 2.7 million geriatric patients each year who get one or more medications with unfavorable risk-benefit ratios because of age-related changes in pharmacodynamics, according to Dr. William J. Meurer, who spoke at the annual meeting of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine. If the geriatric individual was prescribed two or more medications during their time in the emergency department, the odds that at least one of them would be potentially inappropriate jumped...

FDA 'Incapable' of Protecting Public, Federal Reviewer Says The Associated Press The American public is "virtually defenseless" if another medication such as Vioxx proves to be unsafe after it is approved for sale, a government drug safety reviewer told a congressional committee Thursday. "I would argue that the FDA as currently configured is incapable of protecting America against another Vioxx," said David Graham, who warned that the arthritis drug had been linked to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. He told the Senate Finance Committee that there were at least five other drugs on the market today that...

How could a psychiatrist in practice for 27 years fail to recognize an anxiety attack? I was interviewing a new patient when the first surge of adrenaline hit, but I couldn't identify the sensation. The patient continued talking about her lifelong struggle with depression. I broke into a sweat and wondered whether I was having a hot flash. I glanced at the clock -- 20 minutes to go. As I summarized the pros and cons of various antidepressants, my voice trembled. Did the patient notice? I felt as if I were disintegrating. I reached for a prescription pad, trying to...