Worst Pills, Best Pills

An expert, independent second opinion on more than 1,800 prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, and supplements

sparfloxacin (ZAGAM)


E-ALERTS

Search results below include E-Alerts where your selected drug is a primary subject of discussion.


DISEASE AND DRUG FAMILY INFORMATION

Search results below include Disease and Drug Family Information where your selected drug is a primary subject of discussion.

Antibiotics
Antibiotics (drugs used to treat bacterial infections) are overwhelmingly misprescribed in the United States. Despite congressional hearings and numerous academic studies on this issue, it has become the general consensus that 40 to 60% of all antibiotics in this country are misprescribed. New studies continue to confirm the fact that a large proportion of antibiotic prescribing for both children and adults continues to be inappropriate.
Fluoroquinolones
One of the biggest-selling and most overprescribed classes of drugs in the United States is the family called fluoroquinolones. One clue that a drug your doctor wants to give you is in this class is the fact that the generic names of all such drugs approved in the United States include the sequence floxacin. These drugs have been alternatives for individuals allergic to, or with infections resistant to, other antibiotics. Some fluoroquinolones are commonly misprescribed for colds, sore throats, bladder infections, or community-acquired (as opposed to hospital-acquired) pneumonia.

WORST PILLS, BEST PILLS NEWSLETTER ARTICLES

Search results below include Worst Pills, Best Pills Newsletter Articles where your selected drug is a primary subject of discussion.

Antacid Drug Interactions
October 2009
Antacids can interact with a number of medications, either increasing or decreasing drug effect.
Drug-induced Cognitive Impairment: Part 2: Delirium and Dementia
April 2009
This second article about drug-induced dementia or delirium lists and discusses an additional 79 drugs that can cause these reversible kinds of mental deterioration. The two articles collectively review 136 drugs that can cause these serious side effects, especially in older people.
FDA Must Warn Patients Taking Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics of Possible Tendon Ruptures
October 2008
After a petition and lawsuit by Public Citizen's Health Research Group, the FDA announced in July that it will require a “black box” warning concerning tendon rupture and tendinitis caused by fluoroquinolone antibiotics, as well as an FDA-approved medication guide to be dispensed when prescriptions are filled. Although this accomplishes two of the three steps Public Citizen has urged the agency to take for nearly two years, we are troubled that the FDA is not doing everything within its power to prevent more people from needlessly suffering disabling tendon ruptures. Nothing could be simpler and more effective than a letter to doctors in addition to what the FDA has already agreed to do.
Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics Implicated in Life-Threatening Diarrhea
February 2006
Antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD) is quite common and its incidence varies from 5% to 20% of patients depending on which antibiotic they are taking. The article lists some of the drugs most associated with this potentially life-threatening adverse reaction.
Drug Induced Peripheral Neuropathy From The Fluroquinolone Antibiotics
December 2004
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) now requires that the professional product labeling, or package inserts, for all fluroquinolone antibiotics must warn about the possibility of peripheral neuropathy (nerve damage). A list of the fluroquinolone antibiotics currently available in the U.S. appears at the end of this article.
Drug-Induced Taste Disorders
September 2003
DO NOT stop taking any of the drugs listed in the table without first consulting your physician. You should report any alteration in your sense of taste to your physician if you are taking a drug.
Inappropriate Prescribing Of Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics, Ciprofloxacin (CIPRO), Gatifloxacin (TEQUIN), And Others
July 2003
In this study, the researchers evaluated 100 consecutive patients who went to the emergency room and received a prescription for a fluoroquinolone antibiotic. Of the 100 patients, 81 (81%) received a fluoroquinolone antibiotic for an inappropriate use. In 43 (53%) of these patients, a fluoroquinolone was found inappropriate because another antibiotic was considered first-line treatment, and in 27 (33%) patients there was no evidence of an infection and therefore no indication for the use of any antibiotic.
Drug Induced Psychiatric Symptoms
October 2002
This is the first of a two part series on drug induced psychiatric symptoms that is based on the July 8, 2002 issue of The Medical Letter on Drugs and Therapeutics. Regular readers of Worst Pills, Best Pills News will recognize The Medical Letter as a reference source written for physicians and pharmacists that we often use because of its reputation as an objective and independent source of drug information. The article lists the drugs and their psychiatric adverse effects.
Outrage: New Study: Wait Seven Years to Use New Drugs
June 2002
A study published in the May 1, 2002 Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) has resulted in a major change in the Health Research Group's drug safety policy. The study, in association with physicians from the Harvard Medical School, examined the frequency and timing of the identification of new adverse drug reactions resulting in the addition of a black box warning in the drug's professional product labeling or its outright removal from the market. Three of the authors have close identification with the Health Research Group: its director, Sidney M. Wolfe, and former HRG staffers Drs. Steffi Woolhandler and David Himmelstein. The other co-authors are affiliated with the Harvard Medical School.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM PUBLIC CITIZEN

Search results below include Additional Information from Public Citizen where your selected drug is a primary subject of discussion.

FDA Must Do More to Warn Patients Taking Flouroquinolone Antibiotics of Possible Tendon Ruptures
Statement of Sidney Wolfe, M.D., Director of the Health Research Group at Public Citizen
Antibiotic Leads to Tendon Ruptures; FDA Ignores Risks
Despite long-standing evidence that fluoroquinolone antibiotics can cause tendon ruptures, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has failed to increase its warnings to patients and physicians about the dangers of the medicines, Public Citizen told a federal court Thursday.