Learn The Law and Represent Yourself in Court
Share
-
Where Has All the Propofol Gone?
By Kurt Stone OpEdNews.com
Propofol — one of the drugs that led to Michael Jackson’s untimely death — is a short-acting, intravenously administered hypnotic agent. Known in some circles as “Milk of Amnesia,” its uses include the induction and maintenance of general anesthesia, sedation for mechanically-ventilated patients, and procedural sedation. Propofol — and its generic equivalents — has been widely and successfully administered in hospital operating rooms around the world for nearly 30 years. And, as of June 4, 2010, Teva Pharmaceuticals, the Israeli-based firm that was the major supplier of Propofol, no longer manufactures it. Today, it is almost impossible to find.
Where has all the Propofol gone?
And while we’re at it, where has all the Doxil, Adderall, Mitomycin, Morphine Sulphate, Avalide, Ondansetron, Succinylcholine, Dextrose, B-12 and more than 200 others medicines gone? Shockingly, between 2006 and 2010, drug shortages increased by more than 200% according to a Government Accountability Office Report released late last month. Many of the drugs declared “MIA” are critical chemotherapeutics; intravenously infused medicaments and “cocktails” that often mean the difference between remission and metastasis — between life and death. Some of shorted meds — though far less exotic — are just as critical to the health and well-being of patients in need: things as basic as injectable cobalamin (vitamin B-12) and Tylenol 1 (the 325 mg version). Although a lack of injectable B-12 might not seem as critical as a dearth of Propofol or Doxil (a chemotherapeutic drug used in the treatment of breast cancer), it can be for the patient in need; severe B-12 deficiency can lead to irreversible damage, especially to the brain and nervous system.
Read the rest of the article HERE.
Related Posts
- Company Increases Availabillity Of Propofol
- Teva Wins HUGE In Propofol Case Credit U.S. Supreme Court
- Hospira Expands Propofol Recall: Shortage Worsens
- Teva Abandons Propofol: Drug Shortage Continues…NOW WHAT?
- Plaintiff Awarded More Than $500m In Propofol Hepatitis C Lawsuit
