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Vioxx Medication, Side Effects And Rofecoxib
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Published: September 5, 2007
Sickness has become a growing fear in the world today. With all these different illnesses and new diseases, people now put all their faith and prayer into medicine. Yet who would have thought that some of these medicines could also be causing illnesses? In the past couple years, a drug that was used to treat arthritis and other minor pain called Vioxx was linked to causing heart attacks and other cardiovascular issues.
On May 20th, 1999, the Food and Drug Administration introduced a COX-2 selective, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication called Vioxx. Also known as Rofecoxib, the drug was developed to treat symptoms such as osteoarthritis, minor pain, and painful menstrual cycles.
Rofecoxib is in a class of COX-2 inhibitors that work to stop the production of the substance that is causing the pain and inflammation. It is also related to other medications such as Naproxen and Ibuprofen. Within months, it became very popular in the medical world for patients that needed relief from arthritis and acute or chronic pain. Approximately 80 million people were prescribed to this medication at some point in their lives.
Vioxx could possibly cause serious side effects on a patient. Some standard side effects of this medicine are upset stomach, weakness and stomach pain. The more serious side effects consist of bloody vomit, red blood in stools, unusual bleeding or bruising, loss of appetite, yellowing of the skin or eyes, black and tarry stools, pain in the upper right part of the stomach, swelling, hoarseness, difficulty breathing/swallowing, and chest pain.
In September of 2004, Merck & Co (creators of Rofecoxib) pulled the drug off the market due to high concerns about increased risk of heart attack and stroke due to long-term, high-dosage use. This was one of the most widely-used medications to be withdrawn from the market, considering Merck made 2.5 billion US dollars from the drug.
The Vigor (Vioxx GI Outcomes Research) study compared Vioxx to a similar drug called Naproxen. In this twelve month period of the study being conducted, results showed that Vioxx patients were four times more likely to have a heart attack than Naproxen patients. After receiving many warnings and having to put warning label after warning label on the container, Merck & Co decided to pull the medication off the market. Since then, there have been 4,500 lawsuits against Merck & Co all over the country.
In addition to increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke, this medication was also linked to many other cardiovascular problems. On April 5th, 2006, the first Vioxx lawsuit concluded with a New Jersey jury awarding the plaintiff 4.5 million US dollars. In this case, the plaintiff was taking the medicine for a long period of time, resulting in a heart attack. In February of 2006, a New Orleans judge found that the drug was not the cause of the plaintiff's heart attack, who was only taking the medication for less than one month.
Just one month prior to Merck & Co pulling it off the market, the company had sent out a press release stating the overall safety of the medication. Additionally, Merck & Co continued to attack other research studies showing the links between the drug and heart attacks and strokes. According to the Wall Street Journal, the medication could be linked to more than 27,000 heart attacks and other cardiac events.
Though Vioxx has been off the market for almost two years now, the scandal and lawsuits continue. While the medication might have been helping the human body with one issue, it was also linking it closer and closer to a near-death episode. Even though it could possibly be linked to 27,000 heart attacks, it is assuring to know that 7,997,3000 people who were taking Vioxx will now be saved since it was taken off the market.
Sources:
"Report: Vioxx Linked to Thousands of Deaths." MSNBC. 6 Oct. 2004. 25 Aug. 2007 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6192603/.
"Rofecoxib." Medline Plus. 15 Aug. 2007. U.S.National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health. 25 Aug. 2007 http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/medmas ter/a699046.html.
"Rofecoxib." Wikipedia. 29 July 2007. 25 Aug. 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vioxx
"Vioxx (Rofecoxib) Questions and Answers." U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 30 Sept. 2004. 25 Aug. 2007. http://www.fda.gov/CDER/drug/infopage/vioxx/vioxxQ A.htm.
"Vioxx Information." Drugs.Com. 22 Feb. 2007. 25 Aug. 2007 . http://www.drugs.com/vioxx.html
"Vioxx Lawsuit." Martin and Jones. 2006. 25 Aug. 2007. http://www.vioxx-recall-lawsuit.com/.
Kim, Peter. "VIOXX." Vioxx. Merck & Co. 1995-2007. 25 Aug. 2007 http://www.vioxx.com/rofecoxib/vioxx/consumer/inde x.jsp.
On May 20th, 1999, the Food and Drug Administration introduced a COX-2 selective, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication called Vioxx. Also known as Rofecoxib, the drug was developed to treat symptoms such as osteoarthritis, minor pain, and painful menstrual cycles.
Rofecoxib is in a class of COX-2 inhibitors that work to stop the production of the substance that is causing the pain and inflammation. It is also related to other medications such as Naproxen and Ibuprofen. Within months, it became very popular in the medical world for patients that needed relief from arthritis and acute or chronic pain. Approximately 80 million people were prescribed to this medication at some point in their lives.
Vioxx could possibly cause serious side effects on a patient. Some standard side effects of this medicine are upset stomach, weakness and stomach pain. The more serious side effects consist of bloody vomit, red blood in stools, unusual bleeding or bruising, loss of appetite, yellowing of the skin or eyes, black and tarry stools, pain in the upper right part of the stomach, swelling, hoarseness, difficulty breathing/swallowing, and chest pain.
In September of 2004, Merck & Co (creators of Rofecoxib) pulled the drug off the market due to high concerns about increased risk of heart attack and stroke due to long-term, high-dosage use. This was one of the most widely-used medications to be withdrawn from the market, considering Merck made 2.5 billion US dollars from the drug.
The Vigor (Vioxx GI Outcomes Research) study compared Vioxx to a similar drug called Naproxen. In this twelve month period of the study being conducted, results showed that Vioxx patients were four times more likely to have a heart attack than Naproxen patients. After receiving many warnings and having to put warning label after warning label on the container, Merck & Co decided to pull the medication off the market. Since then, there have been 4,500 lawsuits against Merck & Co all over the country.
In addition to increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke, this medication was also linked to many other cardiovascular problems. On April 5th, 2006, the first Vioxx lawsuit concluded with a New Jersey jury awarding the plaintiff 4.5 million US dollars. In this case, the plaintiff was taking the medicine for a long period of time, resulting in a heart attack. In February of 2006, a New Orleans judge found that the drug was not the cause of the plaintiff's heart attack, who was only taking the medication for less than one month.
Just one month prior to Merck & Co pulling it off the market, the company had sent out a press release stating the overall safety of the medication. Additionally, Merck & Co continued to attack other research studies showing the links between the drug and heart attacks and strokes. According to the Wall Street Journal, the medication could be linked to more than 27,000 heart attacks and other cardiac events.
Though Vioxx has been off the market for almost two years now, the scandal and lawsuits continue. While the medication might have been helping the human body with one issue, it was also linking it closer and closer to a near-death episode. Even though it could possibly be linked to 27,000 heart attacks, it is assuring to know that 7,997,3000 people who were taking Vioxx will now be saved since it was taken off the market.
Sources:
"Report: Vioxx Linked to Thousands of Deaths." MSNBC. 6 Oct. 2004. 25 Aug. 2007 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6192603/.
"Rofecoxib." Medline Plus. 15 Aug. 2007. U.S.National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health. 25 Aug. 2007 http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/medmas ter/a699046.html.
"Rofecoxib." Wikipedia. 29 July 2007. 25 Aug. 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vioxx
"Vioxx (Rofecoxib) Questions and Answers." U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 30 Sept. 2004. 25 Aug. 2007. http://www.fda.gov/CDER/drug/infopage/vioxx/vioxxQ A.htm.
"Vioxx Information." Drugs.Com. 22 Feb. 2007. 25 Aug. 2007 . http://www.drugs.com/vioxx.html
"Vioxx Lawsuit." Martin and Jones. 2006. 25 Aug. 2007. http://www.vioxx-recall-lawsuit.com/.
Kim, Peter. "VIOXX." Vioxx. Merck & Co. 1995-2007. 25 Aug. 2007 http://www.vioxx.com/rofecoxib/vioxx/consumer/inde x.jsp.
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