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Undoubtedly, the Coxibs brought in a fresh lease of breath to
millions of patients suffering from painful arthritis- safety first along
with promising efficacy.And not withstanding the well known idiosyncracy
and unpredictablity in the therapeutic responses to NSAID, several
thousands felt immense relief that often lasted for prolonged periods.I am
sure many rheumatologists share my experience.We convinced patients. The
patients believed us. Science progressed. The recent much hyped drug
trials' based revelations about the Coxib toxicity are no less than the
Tsunami disaster that hit us in the face without much ado.The
pharmaceutics are on the run to protect their backs. The learned doctors
have disowned everything that has anything to do with the Coxibs. There
is no balanced view.Extremists have taken over the medical science. Go
back and burn your gut with salicylates- try naprosyn because it has the
least cardiovascular toxicity. The truth of the matter is that if several
traditional NSAIDs and analgesics were to to go through the same scrutiny
that the Coxibs have recently experienced, we would be left advising
patients to munch cannabis or the cinchona tree bark to relive pain-or
better still seek holistic relief elsewhere. My patients are disgusted.
Can we doctors not handle science with better care and sanity? Should we
not control the outputs from the pharmaceutics, and even protect them from
unscruplous elements in the interest of patient care? Of what use is our
so called endeavour in clinical trials to uphold the patients interests
and safety ( ? of paramount importance). We ought to continuously educate
the public and patients in particular. Only then can our much cherished
medical discoveries like the Coxibs evolve into great medicines.And
responsible doctors will always know how to handle medicines while they
evolve.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests:
No competing interests
17 January 2005
Arvind Chopra
Director & Consultant Rheumatologist
Center for Rheumatic Diseases, Hermes Elegance, Convent St., Camp, Pune, India 411 001
pharmaceutics and doctors- for patients the choice is between the devil and the deep sea
Undoubtedly, the Coxibs brought in a fresh lease of breath to millions of patients suffering from painful arthritis- safety first along with promising efficacy.And not withstanding the well known idiosyncracy and unpredictablity in the therapeutic responses to NSAID, several thousands felt immense relief that often lasted for prolonged periods.I am sure many rheumatologists share my experience.We convinced patients. The patients believed us. Science progressed. The recent much hyped drug trials' based revelations about the Coxib toxicity are no less than the Tsunami disaster that hit us in the face without much ado.The pharmaceutics are on the run to protect their backs. The learned doctors have disowned everything that has anything to do with the Coxibs. There is no balanced view.Extremists have taken over the medical science. Go back and burn your gut with salicylates- try naprosyn because it has the least cardiovascular toxicity. The truth of the matter is that if several traditional NSAIDs and analgesics were to to go through the same scrutiny that the Coxibs have recently experienced, we would be left advising patients to munch cannabis or the cinchona tree bark to relive pain-or better still seek holistic relief elsewhere. My patients are disgusted.
Can we doctors not handle science with better care and sanity? Should we not control the outputs from the pharmaceutics, and even protect them from unscruplous elements in the interest of patient care? Of what use is our so called endeavour in clinical trials to uphold the patients interests and safety ( ? of paramount importance). We ought to continuously educate the public and patients in particular. Only then can our much cherished medical discoveries like the Coxibs evolve into great medicines.And responsible doctors will always know how to handle medicines while they evolve.
Competing interests: None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests