Lung drug warnings
May 21, 2012
THE three-drug combination of
Prednisone, Azathioprine, and
N-Acetylcysteine may do more
harm than good in patients with
idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF),
according to a new study
published in the New England
Journal of Medicine.
The randomised, placebocontrolled,
double-blind study
looked at IPF patients who were
being treated across 25 US centres
and found that those in the mild to
moderate stages of the progressive
lung-scarring disease, had a far
higher chance of dying or being
hospitalised if they were taking the
three-drug combination of
Prednisone, Azathioprine, and
N-Acetylcysteine, which is
commonly prescribed as a
standard treatment worldwide.
Interestingly, the report also
found that the three-drug combo
yielded no improvement in lung
function, or even slowing of loss of
lung function, compared with
placebo.
The study was stopped early
when interim analysis showed
signs of harm from the three-drug
program.
"The findings show the
importance of testing even those
treatments that doctors give
routinely for any type of condition
- to see if they truly help, and
don't harm, patients,” said study
author, Fernando Martinez, of the
University of Michigan Health
System.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 21 May 12To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 21 May 12
