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Skin patches used to administer drugs, such as the Duragesic pain patch and the contraceptive Ortho Evra , are still being prescribed even though the Food and Drug Administration has issued warnings regarding their dangers.
Duragesic Fentanyl Patch
Last year sales of fentanyl patches like Duragesic climbed 10 percent when just a year before the FDA had warned of an increased risk of overdose-related deaths. According to a marketing analysis firm, 4.7 million prescriptions were written for the drug in 2006.
“The purpose of the [warning] was to cut back on prescriptions, so it's a failure,” said Dr. Curt D. Furberg of Wake Forest medical school.
Fentanyl is a potent narcotic 80 times stronger than morphine. In 2005, the FDA urged healthcare providers to exercise caution when prescribing fentanyl patches. Nevertheless, the number of fentanyl patch-related deaths continues to remain “steady,” according to one expert.
Ortho Evra
And prescriptions are still being written for Ortho Evra, the popular birth control patch, although sales have dropped off since the FDA warned that the patch exposes women to 60 percent more estrogen than oral contraceptives. Estrogen increases the risk of potentially fatal blood clots.
Kristen Britt, a 28-year-old veterinary nurse, experienced the harmful effects of Ortho Evra in 2005 shortly after she began using the patch.
“One day, I couldn't walk anymore. I was literally screaming in pain,” she said.
Britt had developed a blood clot, which required months-long treatment with risky blood thinning medications. Though her treatment was successful, Britt now faces an increased risk of blood clots in the future.
She and approximately 1,900 women across the United States have filed federal lawsuits against the maker of Ortho Evra. Hundreds more have been filed in state courts.
The Problem with Patches
The safety of drug patches is an issue that some experts are asking the FDA to reexamine. Particularly problematic, safety experts say, is patch dosing. Different people absorb the drugs at different rates. Skin type and lifestyle are both factors that affect drug absorption.
For instance, heat increases the rate at which drugs are absorbed into the body, so exercising and sunbathing will affect the absorption rate. Also, some people have thicker skin, which slows absorption.
“Some people may not get enough of the drug, which defeats the purpose of taking it. And some may get too much…which is going to hurt some people,” Furberg said.
An additional problem is that people tend to regard patches as somewhat harmless, like a Band-Aid, forgetting that a powerful drug lies within.
“Patches are not innocuous,” said medicinal chemist Kenneth Sloan at the University of Florida. “One patch does not fit all.”
Appealing But Risky
Drug patches certainly have their appeal for patients and healthcare providers alike. For patients who don't like to swallow pills or receive needle injections, the benefits are obvious. As are the benefits to doctors concerned with whether or not the patient will take the medication at regular intervals as prescribed.
But patches are not without risks and their relative novelty means that experts are only now beginning to understand their downside. Still, as technology advances, more and more drugs may become available in patch form.
(Source: Los Angeles Times online)
Injured by a defective drug patch? Contact an experienced attorney near you today to learn more about your legal rights.