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Week Ending: February 24th , 2007
Alan Franciscus
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February 17th , 2007
Hepatitis C Campaigners Step Up Demand for Public Inquiry
http://www.theherald.co.uk
STEWART PATERSON
A CAMPAIGN demanding justice for hepatitis C sufferers is being stepped up ahead of a court case next month.
Three families who lost relatives after they contracted the disease are gearing up for the case at the Court of Session.
It comes after it emerged that Body Shop founder Dame Anita Roddick revealed she has hepatitis C and plans to campaign for better treatment and detection of the disease. She says she contracted it after a blood transfusion in 1971.
Campaigners, acting separately from the families involved in the court case, have sent letters to every MSP and are targeting the Liberal Democrat conference which begins in Aviemore today. They are disappointed that the party in Scotland does not support calls for a public inquiry.
Philip Dolan, chairman of the Scottish Haemophiliac Forum, said: "There are people who have been infected after blood transfusions who have not been traced.
"They are unwittingly at risk of passing it on to partners and from mothers to children at birth.
"Many people were not told they had hepatitis C despite doctors being aware of it after testing and only found out through third parties.
"After more than 10 years seeking answers about people with haemophilia having been infected with hepatitis C and/ or HIV from NHS products or transfusions, why has there yet not been an independent public inquiry?".
Mr Dolan said he had written to the Prime Minister, but is still awaiting a reply.
He said that of the 550 haemophiliacs in Scotland 365 have hepatitis C, and almost all of them are over the age of 20.
Frank McGuire, of Thompson's solicitors, who is acting for the families, said they were legally entitled to a public inquiry.
He said: "Our argument is the Lord Advocate has been unlawful in not holding an independent judicial inquiry.
"The Health Committee of the Scottish Parliament agreed there should be a judicial inquiry but not the Health Minister. A judicial inquiry is what they are lawfully entitled to."
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Veteran Hopes to See 46
http://www.ourmidland.com/
By Angela E. Lackey
For Tom Kubitz, every day is a gift.
Kubitz, 45, of Midland, has been sick since 2005. He was born with hepatitis C, and now is dying from it.
"I was told by my doctor ... I definitely wouldn't live to see my next birthday," he said. He celebrated his birthday in January.
Kubitz is a 13-year veteran of military service, having served from 1980 to 1993. Now he is a patient at the Aleda E. Lutz Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Saginaw, and one of many veterans being honored as part of National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans Week.
He was in the Army and Army Reserve, plus the former Midland-based 460th Michigan National Guard and the Ohio National Guard. He joined through the delayed entry program right after high school.
"To get out of Dodge," he said of joining the military.
He was a military truck driver, hauling heavy equipment. He was stationed all over -- in Texas, Germany, Turkey, Bay City, Midland and Ohio. He said the military was educational, and the "camaraderie was great."
He's now on disability. He was a carpenter by trade.
Kubitz is in the palliative care wing at Lutz. Patients typically receive that kind of care before hospice.
"I know I'm terminal. I know I'm dying," he said.
What helps him is his wife of almost two years, Cherie Carpenter-Kubitz.
"I finally got something worth living for," he said. "I love her dearly."
He was still healthy when the two met. He helped take care of her mom when she was dying of cancer, until he became too sick to do it.
He said he is grateful to the hospital and its staff and volunteers for everything. He also is thankful to a slew of groups, such as the American Legion and Disabled American Veterans and their auxiliaries.
"I would like to educate people about what they have here," he said. "This place is fantastic."
He said the food is great -- his lunch was a large, juicy pork chop and mashed potatoes with gravy. He showed off a video library, and said there's bingo and lots of other things to keep the patients occupied.
"They make the veterans feel needed," he said.
Back in his room, he called his wife and told her how to get the van started with a jump. She talked about her husband and their love, and how she has coped during his eight-week hospitalization. They were married June 25, 2005.
"I get to talk to him and see him smile. A lot of people say 'Why stay with him?'" Carpenter-Kubitz said. "I love him."
"He stuck it out with me with my mom," she continued.
Still, it can get lonely.
"There's nights I come home from the hospital ... I cry," she said. "When I lose him, it's going to take a huge part of me."
She said she was scared when he almost died in her arms when he had his first seizure.
"He kept trying to close his eyes. I said, 'Don't you close your eyes,'" she said.
Kubitz doesn't know how long he will be in the hospital. He's fighting a host of problems -- he retains fluid, his potassium is extremely low, and he has high levels of ammonia, "which screws with my brain."
"My birthday present this year was a grand mal seizure," he said. "I have goals from one birthday to the next."
And he doesn't plan to have a seizure for next year's birthday.
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February 18th, 2007
Can-Fite Cancer Drug Effective against Hepatitis
http://www.globes.co.il/
Michal Yoshay-Horovits
The discovery opens a potential $3 billion market for the company’s CF102 drug.
Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd. (TASE:CFBI) has signed a cooperation agreement with Temple University in Philadelphia to test the anti-viral action of the company’s drug CF102, developed to treat liver cancer, and which has been found to be effective against hepatitis B.
CF102 is chemically related to a group of anti-viral substances on the market. Can-Fite therefore decided to test the drug’s effectiveness for treating hepatitis B, and with Temple University will also test its effectiveness against hepatitis C.
Can-Fite says that the discovery opens a potential $3 billion market for CF102, and could speed up the development of the drug. CF102 is being development alongside CF101, a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and dry-eye syndrome, which is undergoing Phase I clinical trials in the US and Europe.
Last month, Can-Fite announced that it completed the recruitment of 250 patients for Phase IIb clinical trials for CF101. This is a milestone stipulated in the company’s contract with Seikagaku Corporation (TSE:4548) of Japan, which has invested $4 million in the company. The investment could reach up to $19.5 million.
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February 19th, 2007
ROMANIA: A European Home to Hepatitis
http://www.ipsnews.net
Claudia Ciobanu
BUCHAREST, Feb 19 (IPS) - About two million of Romania’s 22 million people are carrying some form of hepatitis, in the highest infection rates in Europe.
Between 6 to 8 percent suffer from hepatitis B, and between 8 to 12 percent from hepatitis C. Hepatitis is the main cause for hospitalisation.
Hepatitis B is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis B virus. Hepatitis C is a more aggressive liver illness transmitted usually through blood transfusion. Hepatitis B can also be transmitted this way, but also more through sexual contact.
Medical reports suggest that most people in Romania got infected during the 1980s because of poor conditions in hospitals and polyclinics and negligent medical practices such as using non-sterile syringes and transfusions with untested blood.
"The medical staff are to blame for the HBV (hepatitis B virus) infections because, having no conscience, they used the same needle to give injections to dozens of people," Dr. Mihai Voiculescu, a leading specialist in infectious diseases told media.
While the hepatitis C virus was only identified in 1990, hepatitis B has been known since 1965.
Compulsory testing for the two viruses and vaccination campaigns were only introduced in the 1990s, and then mostly to reduce risks for AIDS patients, whose condition is seriously aggravated if they carry hepatitis as well.
Tests and vaccines are expensive, and the national health system only covers expenses for limited categories of the population.
The ministry of health has still not launched a campaign to inform the public how widespread these infections are.
It is estimated that around 1.5 million Romanians carry one of the viruses without being aware of it. In many cases, the viruses can infect the body without leading to an acute condition. These people can then unknowingly transmit the viruses to others.
Infected people who are aware of their condition often know little about hepatitis.
"I was afraid of a biopsy to see how my liver is doing," said 32-year-old Cristina standing in front of the doctor's office at Matei Bals Hospital for Infectious Diseases in Bucharest. "Who knows what I will discover? I feel well, I try not to worry."
People with chronic hepatitis only start feeling sick at a stage when it may be too late to cure the disease. A timely biopsy is an essential step in the treatment.
A report presented at the National Conference for Liver Diseases in Bucharest September 2006 details the effects of the hepatitis viruses. Five to 6 percent of the cases of infection with the viruses B or C turn into chronic hepatitis. Roughly 20 percent of these people develop cirrhosis, and about a fifth of the cirrhosis patients get liver cancer.
The national health system has resources to treat just 6 to 8 percent of the infected people, Dr Adrian Abagiu from Matei Bals told IPS. Only the most serious cases get the needed treatment, a combination of stimulants for the immune system and substances that limit reproduction of the virus.
In order to qualify for state-subsidised care, a patient has to have a significantly sick liver and aggressive infection in the blood. The rest are asked to get on with their lives as if they were healthy.
"But the serious cases have the least chances of getting cured," Dr. Abagiu said. "Young people are the most likely to succeed. But those almost never meet the criteria."
Treatment can cost thousands of euro, in a country where the average monthly salary is less than 350 euro.
"They told me to go on with my life as if nothing happened," wrote a contributor to a patients' online forum. "But it's not like that. I am afraid I can make other people sick, I feel awkward to talk about it to my sexual partners. I wish there was more information and openness about it."
The World Health Organisation says Romania has the highest rate of deaths from hepatitis in Europe. About 260,000 in a million patients with chronic hepatitis die of it.
The study presented showed that it would be cheaper to carry out vaccination campaigns and provide antiviral treatment to all infected people, rather than treat patients only when their condition becomes serious.
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February 20th, 2007
Contaminated Blood Inquiry Is Announced
http://icnewcastle.icnetwork.co.uk
By Paul James, The Journal
A woman whose husband died after being treated with contaminated blood was last night hailing a victory after an independent inquiry into the treatment scandal was announced.
Carol Grayson could only watch as husband Peter Longstaff died from HIV and Hepatitis - one of 1,757 haemophiliacs estimated to have fallen victim to contaminated NHS blood.
His death in 2005, at the age of 47, came 19 years after his brother Stephen, also a haemophiliac, died after being infected with HIV he contracted from blood collected in America.
The family, backed by The Journal's Bad Blood campaign, have fought for an official inquiry into what has been described as "the worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS".
Previous investigations have been branded "whitewashes" - but yesterday Carol, of St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle, told of her relief that an independent inquiry will now be held.
The inquiry will be conducted by former Solicitor General, Labour peer Lord Archer of Sandwell, who will start collecting evidence next month.
Carol, 47, said: "We've been trying to get this inquiry for years and The Journal has been really influential. If it wasn't for that work I don't think we would be at this stage.
"Peter always knew he would die at an early age. We tried to be very positive and live life to the full, but in the later years it was terribly stressful to see him day after day in quite excruciating pain."
Haemophilia is a condition where one of the clotting proteins in the blood is either missing or present only at a very low level.
It is treated by injection of the missing clotting factor protein.
This can be replaced but Peter was infected by pooled plasma from many thousands of donors.
Former nurse Carol said the advances in treatment for haemophiliacs had been negated by the use of the contaminated blood in the lifesaving transfusions - and that Peter and many others need not have died.
The brothers were both diagnosed with HIV in 1985 - both having contracted the virus from blood used in their treatment.
Stephen died aged 20 in 1986, and Peter was diagnosed with Hepatitis C in 1994.
It later emerged he had tested positive several years before but had not been told by doctors. The blood with which Peter was treated came from donor centres in America where prisoners and addicts would sell it for money. Carol added: "If you don't tell the patient they have an infectious disease they become, unknown to them, a public health risk."
Peter died in April 2005. After his death the family learned he had also been exposed to vCJD from infected blood.
The Department of Health (DoH) said it had considered demands for a public inquiry "very carefully" but had decided it would not benefit those affected.
A DoH spokeswoman said: "We have great sympathy for those infected with Hepatitis C and HIV and have considered the call for a public inquiry very carefully. However, the Government of the day acted in good faith, relying on the technology available at the time and therefore we do not feel that a public inquiry would provide any real benefit to those affected."
But Carol added: "What we hope this will do is allow us to put all our evidence in that the Government has ignored. The Government line has always been that the benefits of treatment outweighed the risks - but they never told the patients what the risks were. We believe it will show a very different timeline of events and could make a lot of people quite uncomfortable.
"It's important we learn from the mistakes that were made and that these don't happen again in the future."
The independent inquiry will be conducted by former Solicitor General, Labour peer Lord Archer of Sandwell.
The inquiry, announced by Lord Morris of Manchester, chairman of the Haemophilia Society, is entirely independent.
Lord Morris said 1,757 haemophiliacs, who were exposed to HIV and/or hepatitis C contaminated NHS blood and blood products, had died since being infected.
Of the 4,670 patients exposed to hepatitis C, 1,243 were also exposed to HIV.
Only 2,552 patients exposed to hepatitis C and just 361 with HIV are still alive.
Lord Archer will call on patients, bereaved dependants, former Health Ministers and "other eminent witnesses" to help the inquiry.
He will be joined by Lord Turnberg, immediate past president of the Royal College of Physicians as medical assessor, and by Dr Judith Willetts, chief executive officer of the British Society for Immunology.
Haemophilia Society chairman Roddy Morrison said: "All across the United Kingdom those infected and their families will rejoice that all the facts are finally to be brought out into the open."
Timeline
- 1960s - First blood transfusions carried out on haemophiliacs in Britain.
- 1985 - All haemophiliacs in the UK are tested for HIV and Aids. Out of 10,000, 1,250 are found to be carrying the virus. In the North-East, 95 out of 105 are infected.
- 1986 - Stephen Longstaff dies.
- 1988 - The Haemophilia Society first calls for a public inquiry.
- 1991 - Routine screening of all blood donations introduced in UK.
- 1992 - Clear evidence that of 10,000 UK haemophiliacs, 4,800 have hepatitis C.
- 1994 - North-East haemophiliacs tested for the first time for hepatitis. Peter Longstaff diagnosed. His wife, Carol Grayson, launches a campaign for justice.
- 2000 - The Government refuses to investigate the source of the blood which infected haemophiliacs. Haemophiliacs discover they have also been exposed to vCJD.
- 2000 - The Journal's Bad Blood Campaign is launched to gain compensation for the victims of Hepatitis C and a public inquiry into the scandal. North-East haemophiliacs go on a treatment strike in protest at the blood products they are being given.
- March 2001 - Haemophiliacs infected with HIV and Hepatitis C march on Downing Street to demand a public inquiry.
- December 2001 - Lord (David) Owen accuses the Government of "serious maladministration", prompting a government investigation.
- December 2003 - Peter Longstaff loses court battle for synthetic blood products to be used in his treatment instead of human blood.
- April 2005 - Peter Longstaff dies.
- November 2005 - Blood used to treat Peter Longstaff is traced to prisoners in the USA.
- February 2006 - A Department of Health report concludes that "nobody acted wrongly" over the contaminated blood imports. Campaigners brand it a "whitewash".
- February 2007 - Independent inquiry announced.
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Hep C Outcomes Vary According to Virus Type
www.gastrohep.com
Among the Hep C virus RNA-positive infections, type 1 infection may be more aggressive than types 2 or 3, finds this month's Journal of Viral Hepatitis.
Whether differences in the natural history of Hepatitis C virus can be explained by differences in the infecting Hepatitis C type is unknown.
Dr Helen Harris and colleagues from England investigated whether the Hepatitis C type might influence the clinical outcome of infection.
Study serum samples were assembled from 749 individuals.
The individuals enrolled into the United Kingdom Hepatitis C National Register from which data on clinical outcomes were extracted.
Hepatitis C virus-RNA-positive specimens were genotyped and Hepatitis C virus-RNA-negative specimens serotyped.
69% with Hep C virus type 1 had cleared infection -- Journal of Viral Hepatitis
The research team used logistic regression analysis to investigate the independent effect of Hepatitis C type on viral clearance.
The team compared 86 patients who were Hepatitis C virus RNA negative with 508 who were Hepatitis C virus RNA positive.
The researchers used the same method to investigate whether Hepatitis C virus type was associated with histological stage of liver disease.
The prevalence of Hepatitis C virus type 1 among those who cleared infection was 69%.
The team found that among those who remained Hepatitis C RNA positive the infection clearance rate was 51%.
Type 1 infections were more likely to be Hepatitis C virus RNA negative than non-1 types.
The researchers noted that type 1 infections were also more likely to be associated with histological stage scores above the median when compared with non-1 types.
Dr Harris' team concludes, “Hepatitis C virus type 1 infection was more often Hepatitis C virus RNA negative.”
“This suggests that spontaneous clearance may occur more commonly with this type.”
“Among the RNA-positive infections, type 1 infection may be more aggressive than types 2 or 3.”
J Vir Hep 2007: 14(3): 213-20
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February 21st, 2007
Blood Disease Victim Welcomes Inquiry
http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/
By Jane Lavender
A CAMPAIGNER who has battled for nearly 20 years to discover why haemophilia sufferers became infected with hepatitis C or HIV has welcomed an inquiry into the tragedy.
David Fielding was given tainted blood products in transfusions by the NHS which gave him hepatitis C and destroyed his liver.
His brother, Brian, also a haemophiliac, contracted AIDS by the same process and died.
Mr Fielding said the independent public inquiry, announced on Monday, would provide answers at last.
Thousands of haemophilia sufferers have been infected with life-threatening conditions after being treated with contaminated blood by the NHS during the 1970s and 1980s.
Mr Fielding, aged 51, of Darley Avenue, Farnworth, and his brother, Brian, aged 46, were among the 4,670 diagnosed with hepatitis C and the 1,243 told that they had HIV.
Just 2,552 patients with the liver condition and 361 people with HIV are still alive today.
Mr Fielding was diagnosed with hepatitis C in 1993 because he used an infected blood clotting agent supplied by the NHS. By 1995, his liver was riddled with cirrhosis.
Just hours from death, he was given a life-saving liver transplant which has not only cured him of liver disease, but also of hepatitis C.
His brother, Brian, was not so lucky. He died in 1990 from AIDS, which he contracted through contaminated blood.
Mr Fielding said: "I almost died and I lost my brother because of this.
"Thousands of other people have lost loved ones and never had an explanation as to why and how this was allowed to happen. I hope this will give everyone some closure and prevent anything this horrific from happening again.
"I feel we were experimented on and no thought was given to our safety. I want to know how this could happen."
The inquiry, announced on Monday by Lord Morris of Manchester, will be carried out by the former solicitor general, Lord Archer of Sandwell, QC.
Lord Archer will question people whose relatives have died and former health ministers.
He will be helped in the inquiry by Lord Turnberg, past president of the Royal College of Physicians; Dr Judith Willetts, chief executive officer of the British Society for Immunology; and Dr Norman Jones, a consultant physician at a London hospital.
His brief will be "to investigate the circumstances surrounding the supply to patients of contaminated NHS blood and blood products; its consequences for the haemophilia community and others afflicted; and further steps to address both their problems and needs and those of bereaved families".
Mr Fielding, a father of three, enlisted the help of Bolton North-east MP Brian Iddon, who has also been calling for a public inquiry.
Dr Iddon said: "This is long overdue and has only come about because of immense pressure from people like David Fielding.
"If the health service makes a mistake, then it should be investigated. This has affected thousands of people and a lot of people have died as a result of this mistake."
The inquiry is expected to start within a month.
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February 22nd, 2007
Hepatitis Meds May Be Linked to Drug Resistant HIV Canadian Health Agency Warns
http://www.365gay.com
by The Canadian Press
(Ottawa) The manufacturer of the antiviral drug Baraclude says the drug may be linked to the development of a treatment-resistant strain of HIV in one patient with the disease.
Baraclude, the brand name for the drug entecavir, has been authorized for use in Canada since June 2006 for the treatment of adults with active chronic hepatitis B infection.
But in an advisory issued Wednesday, Health Canada said the drug's manufacturer informed the federal department that a U.S. patient – infected with both HIV and hepatitis B – became resistant to one of the more commonly used HIV medications while taking Baraclude alone.
The report is one of three from the United States submitted by Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada concerning HIV patients who experienced a decrease in their human immunodeficiency virus levels while using Baraclude, despite not being treated with HIV drugs.
To date, studies do not suggest that Baraclude has any activity against HIV. Drugs which have effects against HIV may be associated with an increased risk of developing treatment-resistant forms of the infection.
Canadians taking Baraclude should consult their physicians if they have any questions or concerns, said Health Canada, which will provide any warranted safety recommendations for the drug once a review is completed.
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February 23rd, 2007
Genotype and Nucleic Acid Tests Important for Hep C Diagnosis
www.gastrohep.com
Nucleic acid tests should be used to confirm Hep C infection, while genotype tests predict virological response, reports this week's Journal of the American Medical Association.
Hepatitis C virus is a common blood-borne pathogen that relies heavily on nucleic acid testing for confirmation of infection.
Nucleic acid tests are invaluable for the diagnosis of Hepatitis C virus infection.
The nucleic acid tests provide critical prognostic information for guiding treatment and measuring the response to antiviral therapy.
Dr John Scott and colleagues from Seattle reviewed the currently available molecular diagnostic tests for Hepatitis C virus.
Hep C RNA negative tests are strong predictors of treatment success -- Journal of the American Medical Association
The research team evaluated the clinical applications of the molecular diagnostic tests, and how these tests shed light on the natural history of Hepatitis C.
The team searched MEDLINE from 1966 to 2006, and article reference lists.
In addition, the researchers searched national meeting abstracts for the diagnosis and applications of molecular diagnostic tests for Hepatitis C virus.
Studies were selected on the basis of clinical relevance.
Qualitative nucleic acid tests have low limits of detection, and are used for confirmation of Hepatitis C virus infection and for screening blood donations.
The team found that Hepatitis C virus genotype test results provide important prognostic information related to therapeutic response.
The researchers observed that the genotype test are routinely used for selecting treatment regimens.
Quantitative Hepatitis C virus RNA testing provides prognostic information regarding likelihood of treatment response.
The team noted that the quantitative tests play an important role in monitoring the antiviral response to treatment.
The researchers reported that sustained virological response is defined as testing negative for Hepatitis C virus RNA 6 months after cessation of therapy.
The team noted that recent studies suggest that the rate of response to therapy is also important.
Conversion to a Hepatitis C RNA negative test result after 4 weeks of therapy constitutes a rapid virological response.
The researchers found that a Hepatitis C RNA negative test result is a strong predictor of treatment success.
Patients who have not had an early virological response was defined as at least a 2-log decline in Hepatitis C virus RNA after 12 weeks of therapy.
The team noted that these patients are unlikely to respond with an additional 36 weeks of therapy, and should stop therapy.
Dr Scott's team concludes, “A sensitive nucleic acid test should be used to confirm all cases of acute or chronic Hepatitis C virus infection.”
“A genotype test and quantitative Hepatitis C virus RNA test should be performed on all patients prior to therapy to best assess probability of response.”
“The test aids in selection of appropriate therapeutic regimen.”
“Monitoring Hepatitis C virus RNA during treatment provides important information on likelihood of sustained virological response.”
“The same type of quantitative Hepatitis C virus RNA test should be used throughout a patient's treatment course.”
JAMA 2007: 297: 724-32
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Idenix Drug Gets EU Recommendation
http://www.bizjournals.com
An advisory panel is recommending that European regulators approve a Hepatitis B treatment developed by Idenix Pharmaceuticals and partner Novartis AG.
Cambridge, Mass.-based Idenix (Nasdaq: IDIX) announced on Friday that the European Medicine's Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use recommended marketing approval for Sebivo (telbivudine), a once-daily tablet designed to treat chronic hepatitis B infection in adults.
The recommendation isn't mandatory but the European Commission typically follows suit with approval; A final decision should be issued within three months.
European approval would be a big step for the drug, which won marketing approval in October in the United States under the name Tyzeka, and also in Canada, Switzerland and some Latin America and Asian countries. Marketing approval is also pending in China.
Idenix is co-developing and commercializing the drug with Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis AG under an agreement established in May 2003.
This is the first Idenix drug to receive major marketing approval and a coup for Novartis, which owns 56 percent of Idenix and has invested more than $412 million to acquire and maintain its controlling stake.
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Most Americans Don't Understand Acetaminophen Dangers
http://news.yahoo.com
FRIDAY, Feb. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Most Americans are not aware of the dangers associated with the popular prescription and over-the-counter pain reliever acetaminophen, U.S. researchers report.
Acetaminophen is found in Tylenol, many combination pain and cold medications, and a number of prescription drugs, including Vicodin, Darvocet, Tylox, Percocet and Lorcet.
Excessive use of acetaminophen, whether it be a large single dose or long-term overuse, can lead to severe liver damage that may require a liver transplant or cause death. In fact, acetaminophen overdose is now the most common cause of acute liver failure in the United States.
This study, which appears in the January/February issue of theJournal of the American Pharmacists Association, surveyed 104 patients who were visiting a general internal medicine clinic at the University of Michigan Health System.
While a large percentage of the respondents reported using acetaminophen in the past six months, almost none could identify the maximum dose of either regular or extra-strength preparations of the drug.
More than 60 percent of the patients stated that they had never received or weren't sure they had received information about the possible dangers of high doses of acetaminophen.
Over half of the respondents were unsure what problems might arise as a result of acetaminophen overdosing, and just 43 percent correctly responded that liver damage could be a consequence of acetaminophen overdosing.
The survey respondents also had trouble identifying which medications contain acetaminophen.
According to the study's co-author Janice Stumpf, a clinical associate professor in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Michigan, these findings emphasize the need for better patient education.
"The community pharmacist is in an ideal position to provide education on the safe use of acetaminophen whenever an acetaminophen-containing prescription product is dispensed," she said in a prepared statement.
It is important to read non-prescription drug labels carefully and be aware of the potential hazards of overdosing on a medication. Patients should be aware of which medications contain acetaminophen and avoid taking multiple acetaminophen-containing products together.
More information
The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about chronic pain medicines.
SOURCE: University of Michigan, news release, Feb. 19, 2007
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