Anemia drug treatment warning issued by U.S. health officials

Anemia Drugs Pose Heart Risk

Anemia treatment using three widely-used medications have been found to increase the risk of strokes and heart disease by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Yesterday, health officials said that Procrit, Epogen and Aranesp should be considered for anemia treatment only of those patient with severe cases.

The three drugs are prescribed for kidney disease and cancer patients to treat symptoms of anemia. FDA officials urge doctors to consider other safer alternatives for patients with mild to moderate anemia so as not to put them at risk for adverse cardiovascular events.

Nephrologists prescribe the drugs to dialysis patients who have chronic anemia. Oncologists meanwhile use them as a way for patients to feel better and to hike doses of chemotherapy. Doctors and dialysis providers earn a percentage for each drug used by patients for anemia treatment.

The Medicare program has spent more than $60 billion since 1989 to pay for the drugs. With the budget crunch, the federal government has targeted these drugs as a way to curtail expenses.

Dialysis patients may need to have their anemia treatment medications shifted by their physicians as the evidence is piling that the drugs, while helping them with anemia symptoms, also has quickened the growth of cancerous tumors and increased the incidence of strokes in some patients.

The FDA has ordered that an additional statement about the heightened risk of cardiovascular events be added in the product labels of the anemia treatment drugs. Doctors are urged to tailor therapy to their individual patients more closely than before.

Posted by George Daniels on Sunday June 26 2011, 1:30 AM EDT. Ref: NYT. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0