Use caution when taking pain medicine

Painkillers tend to cause more side effects than people think: besides causing heart disease, the use of some painkillers like Vioxx also causes kidney problems, according to recent studies. .

Vioxx medicine (Photo: enidlaw)

In two recent studies, scientists found that rofecoxib , a component found in Vioxx drugs of Merck & Co, can cause heart and kidney problems.

114 studies were analyzed at Brigham Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston with the participation of 116,000 people. They found that rofecoxib "is associated with an increased risk of kidney disease and arrhythmias". Scientists have not explained why rofecoxib is harmful to the kidneys.

The second study, conducted by scientists at Newcastle University, New South Wales, Australia. They analyzed 23 studies and found an increased risk of heart problems when using Vioxx that could occur "in the first 30 days of treatment", not after 18 months as previous studies have shown. see.

The study also raised concerns about the safety of diclofenac , an analgesic commonly sold in Europe. According to researchers, diclofenac - marketed in 1988 - is often used as an anti-inflammatory drug, marketed as Voltaren and Cataflam, which also increases the risk of heart disease or stroke as Vioxx.

Other less-used analgesics, such as Mobic of Boehringer Ingelheim, which is widely used in Australia and the US, also increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Merck has recalled Vioxx in the market since September 2004 after a three-year study showed that taking this drug doubled the risk of heart disease and stroke in patients who used it at least 18. month.

The company is currently facing about 11,500 petitions of Vioxx products from people affected by the drug. Merck still confirms the risk of heart disease when taking Vioxx only after 18 months of use.

In April, a US court forced Merck to pay up to $ 9 million in damages to John McDarby, 77, a victim of a heart attack after using Vioxx. This is twice the amount of the original trial.

T.VY