With Medications, It's Risks vs. Benefits
Even everyday aspirin poses potential hazards

(HealthDay News) -- When you pop a pill, do you think about the potential harm it might do? How great a risk are you taking when you use medication for therapeutic purposes?

Researchers in Massachusetts wanted to know how the risk of death associated with common drugs compares with the risks people encounter at work, at play and on the roads.

"You can't evaluate the acceptability of a risk without also looking at the benefit of associated activities, because risks are inevitable in all areas of life," lead author Joshua Cohen, a research associate professor of medicine at Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston, told HealthDay . "We wanted to see if we could compare risks associated with medication use with other risks that people might be more familiar with."

The risk of dying from the arthritis drug Vioxx (withdrawn from the market since the study) or Tysabri, a drug for multiple sclerosis, was found to be roughly the same as the risk of dying in a car, working as a truck driver or rock climbing. The odds of dying from clozapine, an antipsychotic, were determined to be comparable to the likelihood of dying while driving a passenger car.

The study also put into perspective the worldwide recall of Vioxx by Merck & Co. in 2004. When data revealed an increased risk of heart attack and stroke, the drug was pulled from the market.

Taking Vioxx for a year, the study found, was much more risky than a year of car travel, swimming or being a firefighter.

The researchers also found -- not surprisingly, they said -- that "there are a lot of activities that people engage in voluntarily that have associated risks comparable to medication risks," Cohen said. "People must be taking into account benefits for those activities."

Drug safety has garnered national attention in recent years in the wake of the Vioxx recall and amid growing criticism of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's drug approval process.

What's more, mishaps involving approved medications continue to pose a hazard to patients. According to a 2006 report by the Institute of Medicine , medication errors are the most common medical errors, harming 1½ million people a year.

In January, the U.S. Pharmacopeia, a nonprofit group that promotes medication safety, reported that more than 1,400 commonly used drugs are involved in errors linked to look-alike or sound-alike drug names. In seven cases, these errors may have caused or contributed to patient deaths, it said.

To prevent medication mistakes, the FDA recommends the following measures:

• Find out from your doctor the name of the medication being prescribed. That way, you'll know whether you're getting what was prescribed. When you get a refill, check to see that it is the same name, color, shape and texture. If something seems different, talk to the pharmacist.
• Ask questions about how to use the medication. Find out about timing of doses; whether to take it before, during or after meals; and what to do if you miss a dose.
• Know what the medication is for. If you understand its purpose, you're more likely to take it correctly.
• Read medication labels and follow directions.
• Tell all of your health care providers about all medications and dietary supplements you are taking.
• Keep a list of medications with you at all times and share the list with a loved one.

Every medication has risks and benefits, including common over-the-counter remedies, so it never hurts to be cautious. According to the study, even aspirin carries a risk of death similar to driving a car or working as a firefighter.

"Motor vehicle risk I've always known to be a very big risk," Cohen told HealthDay . "The risk associated with aspirin is just as big."

On the Web

To learn more about the benefits and risks of medications, visit the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

SOURCES: HealthDay News ; Joshua Cohen, Ph.D., research associate professor of medicine, Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston; May/June 2007, Health Affairs ; Institute of Medicine, news release, July 20, 2006; U.S. Pharmacopeia, news release, Jan 29, 2008; U.S. Food and Drug Administration, June 21, 2007, 6 Tips to Avoid Medication Mistakes
Author: Karen Pallarito
Publication Date: April 30, 2008
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