Key Points
New Delhi: The Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) the apex agency for setting drug standards in the country last month issued a safety alert regarding nimesulide, a common painkiller and anti-fever medicine...
Healthcare professionals, patients/consumers are advised to closely monitor the possibility of this adverse drug reaction with the use of this drug, the alert said, adding that if such reactions are encountered, it should be reported to the commissions pharmacovigilance programme..
Over the past few years, there has been concern around the safety of nimesulide which belongs to a class of drugs called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) after the evidence started emerging that it is capable of causing liver damage, which may be fatal in some cases...
It offers no therapeutic advantage or better gastrointestinal safety compared with other NSAIDs, whereas it exposes patients to a higher risk of fatal hepatic disorders, ISDB had said.. ISDB had also questioned why the European Medicines Agency, despite confirming the hepatic risks (risks to the liver) associated with nimesulide in 2007, merely limited the duration of treatment, leaving patients exposed to an unjustifiable fatal risk...
Dr Vikas Mittal, a senior pulmonologist with C.K. Birla Hospital in Delhi, too, underlined that while the drug is commonly used to treat pain and inflammation associated with arthritis, its association with several severe side effects, particularly liver damage, should not be overlooked...
