HYDERABAD
Patients developing allergic rashes or dermatitis (skin problems) due to harmful drug reactions can now get help from the Osmania Medical College’s adverse drug reaction monitoring centre (ADRMC). The centre established in 2014, over the last four months, has not only reported as many as 81 adverse drug reaction cases among patients but also changed their line of treatment. Adverse reactions were found among patients visiting the 10 city-based government medical colleges under OMC. Some of the drugs causing reactions include Diclofenac (pain killer), Metronidazole and Curadex (used for infection control), Eptoin (used for treating convulsions), and Adriamycin (anti-cancer drug), among others. In fact, in one of the 81 ADRs reported by OMC between September 15 and January 16, the drug Diclofenac led to the death of a woman at the government maternity hospital, Petlaburj. The use of this drug has been reduced thereafter. Though such incidents are isolated and are primarily attributed to variation in metabolism rate or genetic reasons among patients. The PvPI has 179 adverse drug reaction monitoring centers in the country, including seven centres in Telangana.
