FDA finds 20 drugs that could cause serious adverse reactions

The FDA has released its first quarterly report analyzing drugs for safety risks, concluding that at least 20 drugs have been found to cause serious adverse reactions. The report, the first of an ongoing series of quarterly publications, covers information on drug reactions voluntarily submitted by healthcare professionals from January through March of this year.

In the report, desflurane is cited as having the potential to cause cardiac arrest; tumor necrosis factor blockers are cited as carrying the risk of causing cancers in children and young adults; and heparin as having the potential for anaphylactic-type reactions. Oxycontin is mentioned because of the potential for misuse, abuse and overdose. The report also points out several other drugs that have confusing names, or labeling that could lead to overdoses and misuse, such as anti psychotic drug Seroquel, which it says can lead to overdose due to sample pack labeling confusion.


To learn more about the report:
- read this Modern Healthcare piece (reg. req.)
- read this FDA report

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