The Antibiotic Abuse Page
This new page explores the emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria because of medical over-reliance on antibiotics as a cure-all, and due to use of antibiotics as a fattening agent in animal feed.
The American Iatrogenic Association
Medical errors are the not only way that consumers are harmed. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 2 million people annually acquire infections while they are hospitalized (nosocomial infection) and 90,000 people die from those infections. More than 70 percent of hospital-acquired infections have become resistant to at least one of the drugs commonly used to treat them, largely due to the overprescribing of antibiotics by physicians.
Development, Testing, and Findings of a Pediatric-Focused Trigger Tool to Identify Medication-Related Harm in US Children's Hospitals
Pediatrics 2008 (Apr); 121 (4): e927–935 ~ FULL TEXT
Adverse drug event rates in hospitalized children are substantially higher than previously described. Most adverse drug events resulted in temporary harm, and 22% were classified as preventable. Only 3.7% were identified by using traditional voluntary reporting methods. Our pediatric-focused trigger tool is effective at identifying adverse drug events in inpatient pediatric populations. [Editorial Commentary: These findings (that only 3.7% of adverse events find their way into hospital error reports) is very alarming, and suggests that previous reports have only documented the tip of the iceberg.]
Early Life Infections Improve the Function of the Immune System
American Journal of Clinical Chiropractic 2006 (Apr); 16 (2): 22–25
This collection of medical citations presented by Dan Murphy, DC demonstrates that early exposure to antibiotic use and Pertussis vaccination contribute to the development of atopic disorders such as asthma, and hay fever, and may also be associated with the onset of pediatric lymphoblastic leukemia. Our thanks to the American Journal of Clinical Chiropractic for releasing this article exclusively at Chiro.Org!
Recent Considerations in Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory
Drug Gastropathy
American Journal of Medicine 1998 (Jul 27); ; 105 (1B): 31S-38S
Conservative calculations estimate that approximately 107,000 patients are hospitalized annually for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)-related gastrointestinal (GI) complications and at least 16,500 NSAID-related deaths occur each year among arthritis patients alone. The figures for all NSAID users would be overwhelming, yet the scope of this problem is generally under-appreciated.
Analysis of these data indicates that:
(1) osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients are 2.5—5.5 times more likely than the general population to be hospitalized for NSAID-related GI events;
(2) the absolute risk for serious NSAID-related GI toxicity remains constant and the cumulative risk increases over time;
(3) there are no reliable warning signals- >80% of patients with serious GI complications had no prior GI symptoms;
(4) independent risk factors for serious GI events were age, prednisone use, NSAID dose, disability level, and previous NSAID-induced GI symptoms; and
(5) antacids and H2 antagonists do not prevent NSAID-induced gastric ulcers,
and high-risk NSAID users who take gastro-protective drugs are more likely to have serious GI complications than patients not taking such medications.
Currently, limiting NSAID use is the only way to decrease the risk of NSAID-related GI events.
Prescription-related Illness--A Scandalous Pandemic
J Eval Clin Pract 2004 (Nov); 10 (4): 491–497
Prescribed drugs are now a major cause of morbidity and mortality, particularly in the elderly. The extent of this pandemic is described and its likely causes in primary care are identified: unnecessary prescribing, imprecise diagnosis, inadequate undergraduate and postgraduate education in pharmacology and therapeutics, the uncritical application of evidence-based medicine, the outstanding development of new drugs and their sometimes unjustified promotion. Urgent action is recommended under seven headings, by health administration, epidemiologists, medical educators and prescribing doctors.
Death by Medicine
Life Extension Magazine ~ March 2004
No one had ever analyzed and combined ALL of the published literature dealing with injuries and deaths caused by government-protected medicine. That has now changed. A group of researchers meticulously reviewed the statistical evidence and their findings are absolutely shocking. This fully referenced report shows the number of people having in-hospital, adverse reactions to prescribed drugs to be 2.2 million per year. The number of unnecessary antibiotics prescribed annually for viral infections is 20 million per year. The number of unnecessary medical and surgical procedures performed annually is 7.5 million per year. The number of people exposed to unnecessary hospitalization annually is 8.9 million per year.
The most stunning statistic, however, is that the total number of deaths caused by conventional medicine is an astounding 783,936 per year!!!
Adverse Side Effects from Medication Are Common
LE Magazine 2003 (Dec)
“This study is important because it showed that adverse drug events were found in 23% of ambulatory patients, a rate five times as high as that found in another recent study of the community-living elderly,” said Dr. Gandhi. “We probably found such a high rate because we called patients directly, while other studies have relied mainly on chart review.”
NSAIDs and Musculoskeletal Treatment:
What Is the Clinical Evidence?
PHYSICIAN AND SPORTSMEDICINE 2003 (Jan); 31 (1) ~ FULL TEXT
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are commonly prescribed for musculoskeletal injuries because the conditions are believed to be inflammatory in nature. However, because inflammation is a necessary component in the healing process, decreasing inflammation may prove counterproductive. Also, many tendon injuries called 'tendinitis' are, in fact, degenerative and not inflammatory conditions. An analysis of the pathophysiology and healing of musculoskeletal injuries questions the use of NSAIDs in many treatment protocols. Because NSAIDs have profound side effects, they should not automatically be the first choice for treating musculoskeletal injuries.
Severe Complication of a Commonly Prescribed Drug:
Minocycline-Induced Lupus
J Am Board Fam Pract 2002 (May); 15 (3):239–241
This Adobe Acrobat article states: The constellation of symptoms that includes persistent fever, weight loss, general malaise with rash, myalgias, and arthritis brings a number of serious conditions into consideration: malignancies, connective tissue diseases, and systemic infections. Drug-induced complications also fall into this differential diagnosis. Drug-induced lupus is most commonly associated with procainamide (first described in 1962), hydralazine, chlorpromazine, isoniazid, a-methyldopa, and quinidine. From 46 to 70 drugs can cause drug-induced lupus.
Understanding NSAIDs: From Aspirin to COX-2
Clin Cornerstone 2001; 3 (5): 50–60
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) annually account for 70 million prescriptions and 30 billion over-the-counter (OTC) medications sold in the United States alone. Some formulas are safe enough to be sold OTC for use in infants with fever, while others are available only as a prescription medication and are a leading cause of iatrogenic reactions, hospitalizations, and death.
A Comparison of Iatrogenic Injury Studies in Australia and the USA. II: Reviewer Behaviour and Quality of Care
Int J Qual Health Care 2000 (Oct); 12 (5): 379–388
This article found that approximately 2% of those admitted to a hospital experience major disability and/or death. WOW! A FULL-TEXT version is available.
Incidence of Adverse Drug Reactions in Hospitalized Patients
JAMA 1998 (Apr 15); 279 (15): 1200–1205 ~ FULL TEXT
Although the abstract quotes no numbers in the text, the body of the article states “that more than 2 million Americans become seriously ill every year from reactions to drugs that were correctly prescribed and taken, and that 106,000 Americans die annually from those side effects.” (emphasis added) A related JAMA Editorial in the same issue also states that “ADRs may be the fourth to sixth leading cause of death, and that drug-related injuries occur in 6.7% of hospitalized patients.” WOW! You may also want to read this AHRQ review.
Therapeutic Misadventures With Acetaminophen:
Hepatoxicity After Multiple Doses in Children
J Pediatr 1998 (Jan); 132 (1): 22—27
Twenty-four of 43 patients (53%) died, with an additional three surviving after orthotopic liver transplantation. Parents should be advised about the potential hepatotoxicity of acetaminophen when given to ill children in doses exceeding weight-based recommendations.
A Risk Assessment of Cervical Manipulation vs. NSAIDs
for the Treatment of Neck Pain
J Manipulative Physiol Ther 1995 (Oct); 18 (8): 530–536
As for comparative safety, the best available evidence indicates that NSAID use poses a significantly greater risk of serious complications and death than the use of cervical manipulation for comparable conditions. In conclusion, the best evidence indicates that cervical manipulation for neck pain is much safer than the use of NSAIDs, by as much as a factor of several hundred times. There is no evidence that indicates NSAID use is any more effective than cervical manipulation for neck pain.
Effect of Non–steroidal Anti–inflammatory Drugs on the
Course of Osteoarthritis
Lancet 1989 (Sep 2); 2 (8662): 519–522
To test the hypothesis that non–steroidal anti–inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) accelerate the progression of osteoarthritis by reducing synthesis of vasodilator prostaglandins, thereby diminishing joint perfusion, 105 osteoarthritis patients awaiting hip arthroplasty were treated prospectively with a strong or weak prostaglandin synthesis inhibitor, indomethacin or azapropazone, respectively. In the indomethacin group the affected hips lost joint space more rapidly than did the contralateral hips, a difference not seen in the azapropazone group.
Natural COX-2 Inhibitors ~ The Future of Pain Relief
While COX-2 inhibition may seem to clearly describe one pharmacological effect of several common and widely recognized natural products, such a benefit cannot be confirmed until each is systematically tested for such activity. However, the odds seem in favor of the following compounds serving as natural modulators of pain.
FDA Monitoring of Drug Advertising is Very WEAK
Consumer Reports
This recent Consumer Reports analysis of regulatory letters the FDA posted on its web site from January 1997 through November 2002 revealed a broad and disconcerting range of misleading messages in drug ads: ads that minimized the product's risks; exaggerated its efficacy; made false claims of superiority over competing products; promoted unapproved uses for an approved drug; or promoted use of a drug still in the experimental stage.
Even Small Amounts of Tylenol May Be Dangerous for Infants
and Small Children
In a paper published in Contemporary Pediatrics, Dr. James E. Heubi states that in infants and small children, studies have indicated that the toxic dose is less than twice the recommended dose. Studies have also shown that it is very easy to mistakenly give children too much acetaminophen and, as a result, endanger their lives and health.
Child Acetaminophen Deaths Reported
At least 24 children in the United States have died and three have required liver transplants after receiving accidental overdoses of acetaminophen –– the most widely used medication for relief of pain and fever in children and infants, according to a report in the Journal of Pediatrics.
Public Citizen Petitions FDA to Take Celebrex and Bextra Off the Market
Public Citizen ~ January 24, 2005
Public Citizen today petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to immediately remove two widely prescribed pain relievers, Celebrex and Bextra, from the market because they increase the risk of heart attacks in patients. The group also urged the FDA to cancel plans to approve two other drugs in the same class.
Unnecessary Surgical Procedures
In 1974, the Congressional Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce held hearings on unnecessary surgery. Their findings from the first surgical second opinion program found that 17.6% of recommendations for surgery were not confirmed. The House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations extrapolated these figures to estimate that, on a nationwide basis, there were 2.4 million unnecessary surgeries performed annually resulting in 11,900 deaths at an annual cost of $3.9 billion. 1
With the total number of lower back surgeries having been estimated in 1995 to exceed 250,000 in the U.S. at a hospital cost of $11,000 per patient. 2 This would mean that the total number of unnecessary back surgeries each year in the U.S. could approach 44,000, costing as much as $484 million.
From:
Testimony to the Department of Veterans Affairs' Chiropractic Advisory Committee
George B. McClelland, D.C., Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research
March 25, 2003
1
US Congressional House Subcommittee Oversight Investigation. Cost and Quality of Health Care: Unnecessary Surgery. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1976
2
Herman R. Back Surgery. Washington Post [Health Section], April 18, 1995
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Medicare Patients Dying at Rate of 195,000 a Year Due to Medical Errors
HealthGrades Quality Study. Patient Safety in American Hospitals ~ July 2004
An average of 195,000 Medicare patients in the U.S. died due to potentially preventable, in-hospital medical errors in each of the years 2000, 2001 and 2002, according to a new study of 37 million patient records that was released in July by HealthGrades, the healthcare quality company. That's 534 people killed every day!
Free Drugs For Grandma!
Todays Chiropractic ~ March 2004
Uncle Sam now proposes giving senior Americans free prescription drugs. While this ploy may help many cash-strapped seniors financially, it will definitely be a windfall for the drug companies—as if they needed more profits. The drug industry last year was the most profitable industry on Wall Street, with earnings of over 40 percent. Considering the fact that Americans are the most over-medicated society in the history of the world, or the fact that the American Medical Asociation estimates 2.2 million adverse drug reactions occur every year resulting in over 100,000 deaths, people are nonetheless sold on “wonder” drugs as their quick-fix salvation to serious health problems. I recall one article that mentioned the average senior already takes 28 prescriptions.
The True Cost of Drugs
Rush Limbaugh Online and Anne Boone
Did you ever wonder how much it costs a drug company for the active ingredient in prescription medications? Some people think it must cost a lot, since many drugs sell for more than $2.00 per tablet. In reality, the markup on many popularly used drugs ranges from 2000% to 224,973%. WOW. No wonder there's a Walgreens on every corner!
Does the Pharmaceutical Model Still Hold Water?
After several years as an executive in the pharmaceutical industry, Jean Nordström questioned that approach to human health, so he started his own natural ingredients company. Here he considers the role of both paradigms in improving human health.
Use Caution With Pain Relievers
FDA Consumer Magazine ~ January-February 2003
The committee also recommended that labeling for aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen and naproxen include warnings about the potential for gastrointestinal bleeding that may be associated with use of these products. Aspirin is sold under brand names such as Bayer and St. Joseph's. Ibuprofen is sold under names such as Advil and Motrin. Naproxen is sold under the name Aleve. There are generic versions available for all of these products, as well.
Nearly One in Five Seniors Takes Medication for Chronic Pain
Nearly one in five Americans over age 60 regularly takes medication for chronic pain, according to a 1997 survey. The majority of the 7.5 million seniors who take medication for chronic pain say their medications are effective, but one in four suffers from side effects caused by the drugs. Nearly 40 percent say doctors don't discuss possible side effects of pain medication they prescribe, and half say doctors don't warn them about potential drug interactions.
Don’t Chase Aspirin With Ibuprofen: It Can Block the Heart-protecting Effects of Aspirin
The popular pain reliever ibuprofen blocks the heart-protecting effects of aspirin
, according to a new study (NEJM 2001 (Dec 20): 345 (25): 1809-1817). The results, if confirmed, would have major implications for millions of people who take a small dose of aspirin every day for their hearts, but who also take ibuprofen, widely known in North America under the brand names Advil and Motrin, to cope with conditions such as arthritis.
Medication Errors Observed in 36 Health Care Facilities
Arch Intern Med 2002 (Sept 9); 162 (16): 1897–1903
Answering 20% of the questions wrong on tests taken in school is generally considered better than average, earning a student a B or C letter grade. But when it comes to hospitals providing medication to patients, would you consider dosage mistakes made 20% of the time acceptable?
In this study, one in five doses were incorrect; 7% of all dosages (or nearly 40% of errors) were deemed potentially harmful to the patient. In order of likelihood, the most frequent errors were: drugs given at the wrong time; omission of the correct medication; incorrect dosages; or unauthorized drugs given.
Drug-induced Iatrogenic Intraparenchymal Hemorrhage
Neurosurg Clin N Am 2002 (Jul); 13 (3): 299–312
Intracerebral hemorrhage is bleeding into the brain parenchyma with possible extension into the ventricles and subarachnoid space. Each year, approximately 37,000 to 52,400 people suffer from intraparenchymal hemorrhage (IPH) in the United States. This rate is expected to rise dramatically in the next few decades as a result of the increasing age of the population and a change in racial demographics. IPH accounts for 8% to 13% of all stroke cases and is associated with the highest mortality rate.
Perioperative Deaths: A Further Comparative Review of Coroner's Autopsies with Particular Reference to the Occurrence of Fatal Iatrogenic Injury
Ann Acad Med Singapore 2000 (Jul); 29 (4): 486–497
Another article finds that approximately 2% of those admitted to a hospital experience death, as revealed at autopsy. It goes on to say that “it is not clear why initial, supposedly elective, interventions should be associated with an apparently greater risk of iatrogenic injury than those classified as emergency procedures.”
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The Antibiotic Warnings Page
This new page explores the emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria because of medical over-reliance on antibiotics as a cure-all, and due to use of antibiotics as a fattening agent in animal feed.
Death by Medicine
Life Extension Magazine ~ March 2004
No one had ever analyzed and combined ALL of the published literature dealing with injuries and deaths caused by government-protected medicine. That has now changed. A group of researchers meticulously reviewed the statistical evidence and their findings are absolutely shocking. This fully referenced report shows the number of people having in-hospital, adverse reactions to prescribed drugs to be 2.2 million per year. The number of unnecessary antibiotics prescribed annually for viral infections is 20 million per year. The number of unnecessary medical and surgical procedures performed annually is 7.5 million per year. The number of people exposed to unnecessary hospitalization annually is 8.9 million per year. The most stunning statistic, however, is that the total number of deaths caused by conventional medicine is an astounding 783,936 per year.
Will More Doctors Increase or Decrease Death Rates?
An Econometric Analysis of Australian Mortality Rates
The Center for Health Program Evaluation
This unsettling Adobe Acrobat report (134 KB ~ 31 pages) clearly documents the increase in death rates in Australia as the density of medical doctors increased in the studied regions.
Americans Mad and Angry!
Americans Mad and Angry! is a non-profit, non-partisan healthcare consumer activist organization. We provide timely and meaningful fact-based information and resources to help people become more knowledgeable about medical errors, hospital acquired infections, other preventable adverse events and the lack of disclosure and accountability in our healthcare system.
HMOs Not Protecting Patients: Managed Care Fails to Report Doctors
The Associated Press May 29, 2001, as reported on www.abcnews.go.com
Health maintenance organizations reported only 715 such actions from 1990 to 1999, at a time when the insurance plans became the dominant form of health care in the United States, the May report by the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Service said. Nearly 100 million Americans are enrolled in such plans. Eight-four percent of the 1,401 HMOs in the study didn't report a single action to the National Practitioners Data Bank, the report found.
36 Percent of Acute Liver Failures Are Linked to Acetaminophen
U.S. News & World Report July 2, 2001
Mixing the pain reliever acetaminophen with alcohol can be hard on the liver; but so can taking it while fasting. Yet, surprisingly, many doctors don't tell you that.
U.S. Drug Safety Monitoring Must Be Expanded
JAMA 1998; 279: 1571-1573
Thomas J. Moore of the Center for Health Policy Research at
George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and colleagues, note that an estimated 1.5 million people require hospitalization and 100,000 die each year because of injuries linked to prescription drugs.
The Challenge of Antibiotic Resistance
Scientific American March 1998
Last year an event doctors had been fearing finally occurred. In three geographically separate patients, an often deadly bacterium, Staphylococcus aureus, responded poorly to a once reliable antidote--the antibiotic vancomycin. Fortunately, in those patients, the staph microbe remained susceptible to other drugs and was eradicated. But the appearance of S. aureus not readily cleared by vancomycin foreshadows trouble.
CDC Reports:
Hospital Infections and Drug-resistance Rise in U.S.
The rate at which patients pick up an infection while being treated in a U.S. hospital has increased 36 percent in the past 20 years, U.S. health researchers said Wednesday.
Abstaining From Medicine May Cure Drug Rebound Headache
March 23, 1998 -- Many people who suffer from chronic daily headaches would find relief simply by not taking daily headache medicine, according to a report in this month’s issue of the Western Journal of Medicine.
FDA Warns Against New Painkiller
February 11, 1998 -- Patients who take a potent new painkiller for longer than 10 days can suffer potentially fatal liver damage, the Food and Drug Administration said in a stern warning Tuesday to doctors who prescribe the drug Duract.
“More drug rules needed in nursing homes”
USA Today
Ten years after Congress attacked improper drug use by nursing homes in a sweeping set of reforms, federal investigators say tougher rules are needed to combat lingering problems.
MDs Employ Spinal Manipulation After a Short Training Course:
The Ensuing Study Then Reveals Limited Benefit for the Patients
Timothy Carey, MD's trial involved teaching MD's manipulation in two one-day sessions, and a refresher session, adding up to a grand total of 18 hours of training. When it
yielded “poor” patient outcomes (what a shock, eh?), he stated that: “Overall, the results do not support training primary care physicians in manipulative
techniques” said Carey.
Accuracy of Data in Medical Abstracts of Published Research Articles
Researchers randomly selected 44 articles from each of five medical journals, including Lancet and The New England Journal of Medicine. The results, published in
JAMA. 1999 (Mar 24); 281 (12): 1110-1111, showed that between 18 and 68 percent of the 264 abstracts evaluated were inaccurate, meaning there were omissions or inconsistencies between the data in the abstract and the data in the body, tables and figures of the main article. The results are especially troubling because abstracts are widely used, often separate from their text, as in MEDLINE and other databases, and data taken from the abstracts may be reported and disseminated in other works, in other formats and in the media. You may also enjoy the
Editorial ~ JAMA. 1999 (Mar 24); 281 (12): 1129-1130 on this topic.
What's Wrong With Medical Reporting?
If the average political reporter related what a senator or president said - without seeking a contrasting opinion - he'd be little more than a public relations hack, posing as a
journalist. Of course, no political reporter in his right mind would accept statements at face value from a politician. Yet, this lack of critical perspective permeates medical reporting. Most medical reporters report only what's described by “the experts”, and by the public relations folks who work for hospitals, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and other companies that make their profits from health care.
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