Atypical antipsychotic drugs raise risk of venous thromboembolism in elderly

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Mon, 19 Dec 2005 19:31:34 -0500

[sSRI-Research] Atypical antipsychotic drugs raise risk of

venous thromboembolism in elderly

 

 

 

 

Atypical antipsychotic drugs raise risk of venous thromboembolism in

elderly

 

ALLIANCE FOR HUMAN RESEARCH PROTECTION (AHRP)

Promoting Openness, Full Disclosure, and Accountability

www.ahrp.org

 

FYI

A mountain of evidence is accumulating demonstrating that a class of

drugs known as 'atypical antipsychotics' whose FDA approval is limited

to the treatment of schizophrenia and " short-term treatment of acute

mania in bipolar disorder, " but whose off-label prescribing as

" chemical restraints " has led to sales to reach almost $9 billion. The

atypical antipsychotics pose life-threatening risks for patients.

 

In April, 2005, The New York Times reported:

 

" Older patients with dementia who are given antipsychotic medicines

are far more likely to die prematurely than those given dummy pills,

federal drug regulators said Monday. The warning adds to growing

worries about the safety of the widely prescribed drugs. The Food and

Drug Administration said that it would now require manufacturers of

the medicines to place black-box warnings - the agency's most severe -

on the labels of all the drugs. In 2003, the agency required

manufacturers to add a warning about an increased risk of diabetes

from antipsychotic medications. " See:

http://www.ahrp.org/infomail/05/04/12.php

 

Reuters reports (below) that a study published in the Archives of

Intenral Medicine, found that the drugs are linked to venous

thromboembolism (VTE) in elderly patients. The overall VTE

hospitalization rate was " 0.91 per 100 person-years, the report

indicates. Nearly 78% of the events logged were venous thrombosis with

the remainder being pulmonary embolism. "

 

Compared to patients not prescribed these drugs, " atypical

antipsychotic use was tied to an elevated risk of VTE, ranging from

87% for olanzapine, 98% for risperidone, to 168% for clozapine and

quetiapine fumarate. "

 

 

The atypical antipsychotics are mainly and overwhelmingly prescribed

for unapproved, off-label uses: they are widely prescribed for

children and the elderly despite ccumulating evidence of their

life-threatening hazardous effects.

 

If our current health care policy is to kill off elderly patients in

nursing homes and to turn children into long-term psychotic

patients--the atypical antipsychotics are highly effective. Indeed,

the government's own data demonstrates this. See: Robert Whitaker's

analysis http://www.ahrp.org/infomail/05/08/29a.php

 

 

 

 

Contact: Vera Hassner Sharav

212-595-8974

veracare

 

Atypical Antipsychotics May Raise Venous Thromboembolism Risk

Reuters Health Information 2005. © 2005 Reuters Ltd.

Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by

framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior

written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors

or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance

thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks

and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.

 

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Dec 15 - Findings from a new study suggest

that treatment with atypical, but not conventional, antipsychotics

raises the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in elderly patients.

Still, the absolute risk of VTE with these agents is small and should

be weighed against the benefits they provide.

 

Previous reports have suggested a link between atypical antipsychotic

use and VTE. However, the studies investigating this topic have

suffered from various limitations, such as focusing exclusively on

clozapine, having a small sample size, and not including elderly

patients, the most common recipients of antipsychotic medications.

 

As reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine for December 12/26,

Dr. Rosa Liperoti, from Universita Catolica del Sacro Cuore in Rome,

and colleagues assessed VTE hospitalization among 19,940 nursing home

residents taking antipsychotic agents and 112,078 residents not using

these drugs.

 

The overall VTE hospitalization rate was 0.91 per 100 person-years,

the report indicates. Nearly 78% of the events logged were venous

thrombosis with the remainder being pulmonary embolism.

 

As noted, relative to nonuse, atypical antipsychotic use was tied to

an elevated risk of VTE, ranging from 87% for olanzapine, 98% for

risperidone, to 168% for clozapine and quetiapine fumarate.

 

By contrast, treatment with phenothiazines or other conventional

agents did not seem to increase the risk of VTE.

 

" It seems advisable to be cautious when prescribing antipsychotic

agents to elderly patients, " the authors state. " However, the

therapeutic choice should be individualized based on a careful

evaluation of the benefits and risks of both classes of antipsychotic

agents and patients' risk profiles. "

 

Arch Intern Med 2005;165:2677-2682.

 

 

 

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