Skip to main content

Medication alert for low back pain

Image result for lower back pain
Doctors have urged caution against the use of two medications widely prescribed for chronic low back pain after a systematic review of medical evidence found they carry significant risks of adverse effects without any proven benefit.

The available evidence does not support the use of gabapentin and pregabalin for treating chronic low back pain, the doctors based in Canada and India said after reviewing multiple earlier studies comparing these drugs with placebo treatment, or sham pills.

Chronic low back pain is a common health disorder with studies indicating prevalence rates of four in every 100 persons between 24 and 39 years to 20 in every 100 persons between 20 and 59 years. Doctors typically use non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and analgesics to treat acute low back pain. But patients with chronic low back pain often receive prescriptions for gabapentin or pregabalin, which have been shown to be helpful in treating nerve-linked pain.

"There is no justification for gabapentin or pregabalin in chronic low back pain that doesn't involve leg pain," says Sriganesh Kamath, an associate professor of neuroanaesthesia at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, and member of the research team.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Isotretinoin in India: A tragedy in the offing

Isotretinoin in India: A tragedy in the offing Wednesday, March 28, 2007 08:00 IST  Seema Thakral Isotretinoin is the drug of choice for severe calcitrant cystic acne vulgaris, which often causes scarring and depression from disfigurement. Isotretinoin has been called "the greatest medical advance of the 1980's." A majority of patients with acne are permanently cleared after a four to five months course of treatment. It has also been used off-label for a variety of oncology uses including: cervical cancer, head and neck cancer, squamous cell cancer of the skin, juvenile chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), and neuroblastoma. However, the drug is a proved teratogen and carries a significant risk of birth defects, if it taken during pregnancy. Birth defects, which have been documented following isotretinoin exposure include abnormalities of the face, eyes, ears, skull, central nervous system, cardiovascular system, and thymus and parathyroid glands. There is an increased ris

Contract Research Organization Services (CROs) Market Worth 56.34 Billion USD by 2023

 According to a new market research report "Contract Research Organization Services (CROs) Market by Type (Discovery, CMC, Preclinical, Clinical Research, Laboratory Services), Therapeutic Area (Oncology, CNS, Cardiovascular), End User (Pharmaceuticals & Medical Device) - Global Forecast to 2023", published by MarketsandMarkets™, the global market is projected to reach USD 56.34 Billion by 2023 from USD 39.13 Billion in 2018, at a CAGR of 7.6%. Continue reading here ᐧ

The Connection Between Sedatives and Fractures in Elderly Patients

Johns Hopkins Health Alerts: Prescription Drugs The Connection Between Sedatives and Fractures in Elderly Patients All drugs have potential side effects. Indeed, at some point you've probably squinted down the laundry list of possible side effects on the package insert of your medications. Common drug-related side effects include blurred vision, drowsiness, dizziness, dry mouth, heart palpitations, erectile dysfunction, memory impairment, and nervousness. Fortunately, many of these drug side effects occur in only small numbers of people. Now researchers have called into question the connection between sedatives which can cause dizziness and the potential for falls in elderly patients. They point out that well-meant policies discouraging sedative use in older people to prevent falls and fractures may not be necessary. Starting in 1989, New York State required doctors to fill out prescriptions in triplicate for benzodiazepines, the most widely used class of sedativ