Search results below include Worst Pills, Best Pills Newsletter Articles where your
selected drug is a secondary subject of discussion.
November 2024
In July 2024 the Food and Drug Administration approved donanemab (KISUNLA) to treat Alzheimer’s disease in patients with mild cognitive impairment or who were in the mild stages of the disease. Public Citizen’s Health Research Group has classified donanemab as a Do Not Use drug because it has minimal benefit and substantial health risks, including brain swelling and bleeding.
April 2024
Apixaban (ELIQUIS and generics) is a type of blood thinner known as a direct-acting oral anticoagulant (DOAC). Public Citizen’s Health Research Group has previously classified all DOACs as Do Not Use drugs. Based on more recent evidence, we have reassessed the risk-benefit balance of apixaban and have changed our designation of this drug to Limited Use.
October 2023
The FDA recently approved lecanemab (LEQEMBI) for patients with mild cognitive impairment and in the mild dementia stages of the disease. Learn why Public Citizen’s Health Research Group has classified lecanemab as a Do Not Use drug.
August 2021
Learn why we have designated celecoxib, a widely used selective COX-2 inhibitor that belongs to a drug class called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, as Do Not Use.
October 2020
Patients taking the commonly used stomach-acid–suppressing drug omeprazole should be aware that it has clinically important interactions with many other prescription medications.
October 2020
Ingestion of prescription medications or over-the-counter products is a common cause of poisoning among children. A recently published study found that adults frequently are to blame for this avoidable problem.
March 2020
Learn why women should avoid using BRISDELLE, the first and only nonhormonal drug approved by the FDA for treatment of hot flashes associated with menopause.
May 2018
Prasugrel is an oral antiplatelet drug that was approved by the FDA in 2009 as an add-on treatment to aspirin to prevent clots from forming that may cause a heart attack or stroke in certain patients with coronary artery disease. Learn why we recommend avoiding this medication.
May 2018
When the FDA approved febuxostat in 2009 for treating high uric acid blood levels in patients with gout, we advised readers not to use the drug until at least February 2016 based on our longstanding “Seven-Year Rule.” Read this article to hear results of new research that prompted us to now designate febuxostat as Do Not Use.
November 2017
The injection of corticosteroids into the knee joints of patients with osteoarthritis of the knee is a widespread practice. Find out the results of new research funded by the National Institutes of Health showing that such injections actually may accelerate joint damage.
November 2017
Learn why edoxaban, one of the new blood thinners approved by the FDA, is not the best option for preventing dangerous blood clots in patients with atrial fibrillation.
September 2016
Readers of Worst Pills, Best Pills News are aware that all benzodiazepine tranquilizers and sleeping pills, except for alprazolam (XANAX) and clonazepam (KLONOPIN), are now considered Do Not Use drugs. In this article, we explain why combining these drugs with opioid painkillers could kill you.
September 2016
The FDA's approval of lesinurad despite serious safety concerns and limited evidence of benefits represents another example of the agency's reckless approach to the oversight of prescription drugs. Read our independent analysis of the data considered by the FDA when it approved this new gout drug and our assessment of why you should not use it.
June 2014
Clopidogrel is a widely used drug for reducing the risk of a new heart attack or stroke or cardiovascular death in patients who have had a recent heart attack, stroke or established pe-ripheral vascular disease. This article provides a detailed overview of the drug, including potential serious side effects and important precautions to follow when taking the drug.
November 2013
A familiar and heavily promoted remedy for colds, zinc has not been found to have very important benefits. This article analyzes studies purporting to show such benefits.
July 2013
Dr. Carome will be directing Public Citizen’s Health Research Group, but Dr. Wolfe will still be working on the issues he has previously focused on, such as drug safety.
June 2013
A recent study contradicted earlier beliefs by finding that vitamin D supplements (CALCIFEROL) given to people with osteoarthritis of the knee were ineffective in relieving knee pain or slowing damage to the knee joint.
March 2013
Approximately 20 percent of prescriptions for elderly patients in primary care settings are inappropriate, leading to adverse reactions that are entirely preventable. The article lists some of the most common inappropriately prescribed drugs.
March 2013
Find out which drugs approved in 2012 have risks greatly exceeding their benefits or no meaningful benefits. If you are using any of the DO NOT USE drugs reviewed in the article, talk to your doctor before stopping their use.
November 2012
The recent epidemic of life-threatening and fatal infections from contaminated spinal steroid injections is a reminder of the larger issue of their use, even if not contaminated. The article discusses risks that remain even with properly manufactured medications, describing how patients and physicians should know when not to use steroids, consider the risks and benefits of the procedure, and understand other treatment options before using steroids to treat lower back pain.
January 2012
Find out how to prevent emergency hospitalizations from two commonly used drugs, warfarin (COUMADIN) and clopidogrel (PLAVIX). There are approximately 33,000 emergency hospitalizations a year from warfarin alone. This article includes a list of more than 50 drugs that can have harmful interactions with warfarin and/or clopidogrel.
July 2009
This article documents how long it has taken the FDA to fully implement a recommendation from its own advisory committee 32 years ago stating that: "Do not exceed the recommended dosage [acetaminophen--as in Tylenol] because severe liver damage may occur." Other countries have done more.
March 2008
This article reviews evidence for the international epidemic of overuse of proton pump inhibitors (PPI),
drugs used to treat ulcers and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). There were 70 million prescriptions filled in U.S. pharmacies in 2006 for the four leading PPI drugs: esomeprazole (NEXIUM), lansoprazole (PREVACID), pantoprazole (PROTONIX) and rabeprazole (ACIPHIX). Find out about several serious side effects of these drugs such as increased community-acquired pneumonia, increased hip fractures and acute kidney inflammation. Learn about alternatives to using PPIs.
December 2007
This article explains how to understand the International Normalized Ratio (INR), a test applied to a sample of a patient’s blood to determine how “thin” it is when you are using the blood thinner COUMADIN (warfarin). In addition, the article lists more than 50 drugs or dietary supplements that can interact harmfully with COUMADIN to cause the blood to be too thin (abnormal bleeding) or not thin enough which could result in lessening the effect of COUMADIN in stopping blood clot formation.
January 2007
An estimated 701,547 patients were treated for adverse drug reactions in emergency rooms each year in 2004 and 2005, totaling 1.4 million visits to the emergency room. Of these, an estimated 117,318 patients were hospitalized each year. According to the study. 18 drugs were each, either independently or in combination with other drugs, implicated in one percent or more of the estimated adverse drug events. These drugs are listed in the table that accompanies this article along with the annual estimates of adverse drug events.
May 2006
In the most rigorous study to date, there was no evidence of effectiveness for glucosamine, chondroitin or the two together. We continue to recommend against the use of these unregulated supplements.
June 2005
If you are currently taking celecoxib (CELEBREX)you should contact your physician to consider alternative NSAID treatment.
March 2005
If you are now taking clopidogrel and do not have a severe allergy to aspirin, contact your doctor and discuss switching from clopidogrel to low dose aspirin plus a PPI.
February 2005
This article will look at the potential savings for the individual consumer if the alternative treatments recommended in Worst Pills, Best Pills were used for six DO NOT USE drugs. All six are listed in the Drug Topics Magazine Top 200 selling drugs in U.S. in 2003. The drugs are: celecoxib (CELEBREX) used for arthritis and pain; the Alzheimer’s disease drug donepezil (ARICEPT); drospirenone with ethinyl estradiol (YASMIN 28), an oral contraceptive; esomeprazole (NEXIUM) the “new purple pill” for heartburn; montelukast (SINGULAIR), a drug approved for both asthma and hay fever; and valdecoxib (BEXTRA), an arthritis drug very similar to celecoxib.The combined sales of these six DO NOT USE drugs was $8.1 billion with more that 75 million prescriptions dispensed in 2003.
November 2004
Vioxx is the ninth prescription drug to be taken off the market in the past seven years that Worst Pills, Best Pills News readers were previously warned DO NOT USE. The average time between warning readers not to use these drugs and their removal from the market was one year and eight months.
Login
Subscribe