Vioxx and increased cardiac mortality.

[MustafaMond]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

The study, presented at an epidemiologists conference in Bordeaux, France on Wednesday, is the latest to suggest that the $2.5-billion-a-year drug increases the danger of heart attacks. Lingering safety concerns have badly hurt sales of Vioxx in recent years.

The study also found patients taking the highest recommended daily dosage of Vioxx had three times the risk of heart attack and sudden cardiac death as those not taking standard painkillers.

http://money.cnn.com/2004/08/26/news/fortune500/vioxx_kaiser.reut/


This was presented at a conference of epidemiologists in August.
What do you guys think?
Would you pull a pt. off of Vioxx, if they have high risk for CAD?
I would.

 

[MustafaMond]

Give me some props, people.....

 

[Sessamoid]

I wouldn't use a COX2-I to begin with.

 

[Seaglass]

neither would I.

 

[southerndoc]

Of note: Merck has a new anti-inflammatory drug in the works pending FDA approval.

Philosophy: Pull Vioxx off the market, appear to be safety conscious and make people question the safety of other Cox-2's on the market, then introduce your new drug as a "safer alternative" without the risk of coronary involvement. Translation? Mucho dinero.

 

[MustafaMond]

I wouldn't use a COX2-I to begin with........neither would I.

Its funny how seaglass and sessamoid are jumping on the Anti-Vioxx bandwagon, the day after it was pulled from the market.
Where were your responses before today???

"I wouldn't use a Cox-2."
WTF does that mean???

The question was, would you pull your pt. OFF of vioxx in the ER , considering the data I had posted.
I guess its a moot point now, considering it has been pulled.


I expected some intelligent discussion, but instead I got trollish one-liners that started the day after it was on the 6:00 news...


Big thumbs down to this forum. 👎

 

[MustafaMond]

Of note: Merck has a new anti-inflammatory drug in the works pending FDA approval.

Philosophy: Pull Vioxx off the market, appear to be safety conscious and make people question the safety of other Cox-2's on the market, then introduce your new drug as a "safer alternative" without the risk of coronary involvement. Translation? Mucho dinero.

Merck didn't plan this.
Their stock has plummeted, and they may have to merge, to stay alive.
I highly doubt any strategy here.

 

[Sessamoid]

Its funny how seaglass and sessamoid are jumping on the Anti-Vioxx bandwagon, the day after it was pulled from the market.
Where were your responses before today???

"I wouldn't use a Cox-2."
WTF does that mean???

Which word did you have a problem understanding?

I expected some intelligent discussion, but instead I got trollish one-liners that started the day after it was on the 6:00 news...


Big thumbs down to this forum. 👎

Then don't come here anymore. My position on COX2-Is has been posted here long before the Vioxx problem on several threads. I don't use them, and have never prescribed them except on specific request to refill an existing prescription. The data never supported their use, and their purported advantages are illusory and transient at best.

Who's the troll?

 

[MustafaMond]

My question was whether or not you would pull them OFF of vioxx, fool.
Not whether or not you like using them.

So where was your intelligent response on this thread before today???

 

[Sessamoid]

My question was whether or not you would pull them OFF of vioxx, fool.
Not whether or not you like using them.

So where was your intelligent response on this thread before today???

As a policy I don't stop patient's medications started by their primaries unless there is a compelling reasons (interaction or obvious adverse effect). Nice ad hom by the way. I know there was a reason you were on my ignore list. Welcome back to it.

 

[DrQuinn]

I know very few, if any, EP's who will prescribe a COX-2 from the ED. So you won't find many people in these forums who give out COX-2s, or know much about them besides the general information and an occasional rep who stops by with information about them.

Q

 

[MustafaMond]

As a policy I don't stop patient's medications started by their primaries unless there is a compelling reasons (interaction or obvious adverse effect). .

The whole point of my thread was "Is there a compelling reason to stop vioxx in the ED."

 

[DrDre']

Lately, it seems we need a moderator in every thread.

 

[Doctor Peloncito]

http://money.cnn.com/2004/08/26/news/fortune500/vioxx_kaiser.reut/


This was presented at a conference of epidemiologists in August.
What do you guys think?
Would you pull a pt. off of Vioxx, if they have high risk for CAD?
I would.

a lot of docs (orthos were the worst) would immediately prescribe the max dose of 50mg of vioxx to pts even though studies showed that 12.5 mg was an effective dose for most patients.

edit:

I originally meant to quote this:

The study also found patients taking the highest recommended daily dosage of Vioxx had three times the risk of heart attack and sudden cardiac death as those not taking standard painkillers.

 

[cooldreams]

Merck didn't plan this.
Their stock has plummeted, and they may have to merge, to stay alive.
I highly doubt any strategy here.

dood i jus found out my grandma was on this stuff... she had been on it for 6 months when she then had a heart attack. she was taken off momentarily... and then recently put back on....

🙁

 

[DrQuinn]

I was on Vioxx for a week and then all of a sudden I got gonorrhea with a raging case of the hemorrhoids.

Q

 

[cooldreams]

yea but thas normal for you right? 😀

 

[mikecwru]

I was on Vioxx for a week and then all of a sudden I got gonorrhea with a raging case of the hemorrhoids.

Q

Too bad you're only kidding about being on Vioxx.

mike

 

[DrQuinn]

Too bad you're only kidding about being on Vioxx.

mike

actually i was kidding about the gonorrhea, it was chlamydia and a killer case of HSZ. its all about supression now though.

 

[docB]

I found the way that the figures were reported in the media very interesting. For the first 2 days the media was reporting the study figures of something like 3% increased risk. On about the third day the reports changed to state that the drug had caused ~28000 strokes and heart attacks. I imagine this change of tone was due to the mobilizing army of lawyers who had their actuaries punch up a number and then faxed it to every reporter in the country. Afew things a certain:

A lot of lawyers will make a lot of money.
Almost none of them and certainly none of the possible juries will understand the science involved.
None of the pts that had heart attacks or strokes will gain any new myocytes or neurons from any of it.

 

[jonwilli]

I agree, rarely ever see EPs giving out Cox-2 drugs. Just a spin on the article. I have already seen 3 ads from lawyers specifically about Vioxx and if "you've suffered injury, you may be entitled to compensation." Also, Pfizer was quoted in the local St. Pete Times on the whole situation as saying (they sell Celebrex by the way) that they think Celebrex may decrease the risk of cardiac disease!! Anything to make a buck..

The only reason I would change people's meds if they were being admitted and for some bogus reason I was re-starting their home meds. Then, we would not be able to get Vioxx from the pharmacy, so why keep them on it. Bottom line: people won't be taking it for much longer!!

 

[USCDiver]

Also, Pfizer was quoted in the local St. Pete Times on the whole situation as saying (they sell Celebrex by the way) that they think Celebrex may decrease the risk of cardiac disease!! Anything to make a buck..

They sell Bextra too by the way.