Acetaminophen panel at FDA in the best interests of the consumer
Tuesday, June 30, 2009 at 5:54PM
Updated on Tuesday, June 30, 2009 at 8:10PM by
Kay B. Day, Editor
A US Food and Drug Administration panel with a complicated name [The Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee with the Anesthetic and Life Support Drugs Advisory Committee and the Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Committee] is actually doing a good thing by reviewing acetaminophen.
It’s a popular drug popping up in all sorts of medicines—cough syrup, menstrual cramp medicaments and sleep concoctions. It’s also used in heavy-duty prescription painkillers like Vicodin and Percocet. The FDA background statement for the June 29-30 joint meeting in Adelphi (Md.) declared, “Acetaminophen is one of the most commonly used drugs in the United States,1 yet it is also an important cause of serious liver injury.”
A number of issues have been discussed, such as drug interactions between Warfarin and acetaminophen and safe dosages when someone drinks alcohol moderately. [Continues below photo.]
The FDA has in-depth information about acetaminophen and other drugs.
CNN said, “The agency cited another study, a 2007 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention population-based report, that estimated that acetaminophen was the likely cause of most of the estimated 1,600 acute liver failures each year…The advisory panel could vote to pull over-the-counter drugs that use acetaminophen in combination with other ingredients that treat flu and cold symptoms, allergies or sleeplessness…These combination drugs include NyQuil, Pamprin and Allerest.”
