Jul. 05, 2006 - 20:38 MDT

INTERESTING

We go along thinking we are doing things the right way, the safe way and then the flap comes up, we are wrong. There is an article in The Rocky Mountain News this morning by Carla K. Johnson of The Associated Press that rocks my boat. Quoted here in full:

RESEARCH STIRS SAFETY QUESTIONS ON TYLENOL

CHICAGO -- "Healthy adults taking maximum doses of Tylenol for two weeks had abnormal liver test results in a small study, researchers found."

"The results raised concerns that even recommended amounts of the popular painkiller might lead to liver damage."

"In the study, 106 participats took 4 grams of Tylenol -- equivalent to eight extra strength Tylenol tablets -- each day for two weeks. Some took Tylenol alone and some took with an opioid painkilller. Dummy pills were given to 39 others."

"There were no alarming liver test results among the people who took the placebos. But nearly 40 percent of the people in all the other groups had abnormal test results that would signal liver damage, according to the study that apppears in today's Journal of the American Medical Association."

"I would urge the public not to exceed 4 grams a day. This is a drug that has a rather narrow safety window," said a study co-author, Dr. Neil Kaplowitz of the University of Southern California."

"Heavy drinkers should take no more than 2 grams daily, Kaplowitz said."

"Another co-author, Dr. Paul Watkins of the University of North Carolina, said he's less worried than Kaplowitz."

"The maker of Tylenol, McNeil Consumer & Specialty Pharmaceuticals, said its own research found much lower rates of abnormal liver results."

"It doesn't lead to liver disease and it usually resolves as patients continue to take acetaminophen," said Dr. Edwin Kuffner, senior director of medical affairs at McNeil."

"The researchers were hired by the drug company Purdue Pharma LP, maker of the prescription painkiller OxyContin, to find out why abnormal liver tests were showing up in people testing a combination drug containing the acetaminophen and the opiate hydrocodone."

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Makes me wonder why they used four gram tablets ? My prescription Percocet is 5/325 MG (Milligram) 5 milligrams oxycodone and 325 milligrams acetominophen. Instructions are one to two tablets every 8 to 12 hours. Which I take when my back pain exceeds what Tyelonol can take care of. And I never had to take my prescription for two weeks at a time.

Heather's prescription for Vicodin is 5 Milligram hydrocodone 500 milligram acetominophen -- with instructions of one tablet every four to six hours. This prescription was given her after a painful tooth extraction. Prescription quantity of 12.

Which also leads me to wonder, did they test oxycontin alone on the same number of subjects ? If so, what did their liver tests show ? Seems to me that the same number of people should have been tested on oxycontin alone to make it a fair indication of the effects of oxycontin alone.

Was the test run for two weeks just to elicit liver damage ?

Is it sloppy reporting or pharmaceutical baloney ?

I have known for years that overuse of Tylenol can damage the liver, so what's the news in the so-called news item today ? INTERESTING . . . . . . . . . . . .

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