Healthy Skepticism Library item: 6769
Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.
Publication type: Journal Article
Limaye AP, Paauw DS.
Personal use of drug samples by physicians and office staff.
JAMA 1997 Nov 19; 278:(19):1568-9
Abstract:
Three cases of Clostridium difficile related diarrhoea as a complication of the personal use of drug samples are described. In each case a member of the medical house staff self-diagnosed an infection and began therapy with antibiotics that were provided as samples for patient use. Medical personnel are in frequent contact with patients with C. difficile, spores of the organism can persist in the hospital environment, personnel have ready access to antibiotic samples, and self-diagnosis and treatment are prevalent. Our cases illustrate how C difficile diarrhoea can be produced even in otherwise healthy, nonhospitalized individuals.
Keywords:
*letter to the editor/United States/
Advertising*
Drug Industry*
Drug Utilization*
Ethics
Humans
Interprofessional Relations
Medical Staff*
Physicians*
Self Medication*/adverse effects
United States
