Medication adverse events and compounding

The November 2007 issue of America's pharmacist (a trade magazine geared towards pharmacists) highlighted the recent surge in fatalities and adverse drug events related to prescription and OTC medication. Top drugs linked to fatalities and serious adverse events from 1998 to 2005 included the following:

oxycodone 5548 fatalities
fentanyl 3545 fatalities
clozapine 3277 fatalities
morphine 1616 fatalities
acetaminophen 1393 fatalities

estrogens 11,514 serious nonfatal
insulin 9597 serious nonfatal
infliximab 8754 serious nonfatal
interferon beta 8320 serious nonfatal
paroxetine 8095 serious nonfatal

The above chart illustrates how dangerous medication can be. By comparison, pharmacist compounded medications have an excellent safety profile. While there have been side effects and safety issues in the past, the vast majority of those individually compounded preparations for patients have been dispensed with few safety issues.

One of the most vocal arguements against compounding is that there is no reporting system for errors and side effects. The arguement then goes "How do we know the real number of compouned preparations adverse events?" The compounding industry is working on a serious adverse events reporting system. Once this system starts, we will all get to see what the compounded medication safety profile is. This system should help quiet the fears and reporting concerns of compounding pharmacy critics and illustrate how seriously the pharmacists consider their patients care and well being.

Take Care,
Rich