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Monthly NewsNote
March 2005
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ON ADDERALL
Several weeks ago Canada abruptly withdrew AdderallXR from the market. I had
heard nothing about this coming and one day received several calls from anxious
patients who had read about it in USA Today or the Wall Street Journal. This
Monthly NewsNote will discuss the subject because it is of concern to many people,
and a very helpful drug for the treatment of ADD.
Here’s the material I’ve been able to gather. From 1999 through
2003 there have been 12 cases of sudden death in patients 7 to 16 years of age.
The average age was 12, and all the deaths were in males. Five of the 12 cases
had cardiac risk factors, including undiagnosed risk factors. There is no specific
finding relating to the remaining seven, though there was apparently a problem
of one kind or another with the remaining seven.
The FDA stated that “it does not appear that the number of deaths reported
is greater than the number of sudden deaths that would be expected in this population
without treatment” The FDA is reviewing the cases but they do not feel
the medication should be withdrawn or re-labeled.
The important message in this would be to be as sure as possible that no cardiac
risk factors exist. A regular check up by your pediatrician is an important
part of this. If you are an adult be sure to have annual check ups to make sure
blood pressure, pulse, etc. are normal.
However, a review of the material suggests that this is a safe drug. There
were 30 million prescriptions worldwide between 1999 and 2003, which certainly
shows that the drug is widely used. It seems reasonable to continue the medication
because it can certainly do a lot of good.
But I would add a caveat. There are many students in college and high school
who are getting medication illegally and using the tablets to help them do better.
This problem has become quite widespread and we don’t know how to control
it because of the academic pressures students are subject to. But we now see
that however rare, there are potential risks to taking Adderall. I think that
it is important that these students get the message!
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