# E-DRUG: dipyrone **URL:** https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-dipyrone/788 **Category:** e-drug **Created:** [May 20, 1997, 3:19pm UTC](https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-dipyrone/788 "1997-05-20T15:19:10Z") **Posts on this page:** 1 **Page:** 1
### Author: ![Arturo\_Marti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@Arturo\_Marti](https://talk.edrugplus.org/u/Arturo_Marti) #### Post date: [May 20, 1997, 3:19pm UTC](https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-dipyrone/788/1 "1997-05-20T15:19:10Z")
E-drug: dipyrone (summary of replies) Dear Madam/Sir: Few days ago, I wrote to E-Drugs members about Dipyrone ( Metamizol). This is a abstracts of answer I received. Many thanks to you. " Australia does not allow dipyrone, in fact very few medical practitioners have heard of it. Information about Australian 'Therapeutic Guidelines: Analgesic' are available from mhemming@medeserv.com.au " Beverley Snell [ International Health Unit, Macfarlane Burnet Centre, Box 254 FAIRFIELD 3078 AUSTRALIA] " Dipyrone is not available in Canada" Joel Lexchin, Canada [joel.lexchin@utoronto.ca (Joel Lexchin)] " Yes, dipyrone is available in South Africa. It is available in combination with hyoscine-N-butyl bromide (10 mg) and dipyrone (250 mg). The product is called Buscopan Co and is manufactured/ marketed by Boehringer Ingelheim. It is one of many products which should be reviewed by our Regulatory Authority" Leesette Turner " The German Drug Regulatory Agency (BGA), the home country of Boehringer Ingelheim, banned all combinations of dipyrone/metamizol with spasmolytic drugs 10 years ago after clinical studies cold not show any benefit of the dipyrone combinations over dipyrone alone. Due to the popularity of these combinations, doctors often did not realize these combinations contained dipyrone. This was enough reason for Germany to ban the combnations. Most European countries followed suit, and banned dipyrone(metamizol) combinations as well. The brandnames were so popular, that sometimes the company kept the 'old' combination brandname for the single product!" Wilbert Bannenberg E-drug moderator " Strangely enough the combination preparation (injectable) was NOT banned because of suspected bone marrow toxicity, but because of the risk of anaphylactic shock. This measure was actually taken by the German BGA after the chairman of the drug committee of the German Medical Association died after such an injection " Leo Offerhaus MD PhD E-mail LO@EURONET.NL, CompuServe 71530,15 " Yes, dipyrone is available in Argentina" Daniel Domosbian [e-mail: colfar@satlink.com] " Metamizol/dipyrone/analgin/noraminophenazonum etc. was recently registered in Sweden (kind of reintroduction as it formerly existed at least in one preparation called Palerol comp. from Sandoz and which was used for treatment of biliary colic and colic caused by kidney stones as far as I remember). The drug now registered, Novalgin from Hoechst, comes in tablets and as injection. Indications: Short-term treatment of acute moderate to severe pain caused by tissue damage, e.g. after surgical procedures and colic, e.g. biliary and urinary. With Sweden being a EU-member, it is to be expected that metamizole will reappear in more European countries. Metamizole is extensively used in East Europe. In Mongolia, which I visited recently, in addition to commerially available preparations, the pharmacies were producing Analgin solutions in large quantities and selling it without prescription. Metamizole has also been part of drug donations by e.g. MSF, Spain. They claim to use it as an alternative to opiates which cannot be included in donations (or so they say)" Ms Kirsten Myhr, [E-mail: myhr@online.no or (w): kirsten.myhr@helsetilsynet.dep.telemax.no] " A number of years ago, HAI and one of its members, BUKO Pharma-Kampagne in Germany, wrote a report on the drug and its dangerous side effects. While the report is now a few years old, it does include some good background information about the drug and its use." Elizabeth Hayes Health Action International Europe Jacob van Lennepkade 334 T, 1053 NJ Amsterdam, Netherlands tel: +31 20 6833684, fax: +31 20 6855002 France: " Dipyrone is marketed in France in many drugs. 2 tradenames contain only dipyrone and 2 are combnations with cafeine and 2 others with antispamodic and 1 with codeine". Cameroon: " Dipyrone was also present in Cameroon up to 1994 when I left the country, but there is no doubt that the same drugs are still present. It was very much used mainly as antipyretic. A retrospective survey carried out in 1993 on outpatient records of a district hospital found that 48% of prescriptions contained dipyrone . The October-December 1992 issue of the Precriber's bulletin (independent drug bulletin, no longer published) contained two pages of review on dipyrone. The main messages were: fatal side effects exists altough rare, and dipyrone shoudl not be used as first line antipyretic or analgesic. This bulletin was sent to all prescribers (doctors, nurses, midwives and pharmacists). The survey mentionned above found that in the same hospital prescription at the outpatient department dropped to 9% in 1993. (Steinhausen KF. The effect of a drug bulletin on rational prescribing in hospitals of Fako division in South West province, Cameroon. University of Heidelberg, 1993)". Jerome Sclafer [e-mail: jeromejet@easynet.fr] " Dipyrone is effective as an analgesic and antipyretic. However, its use carries with it a high risk of agranulocytosis. If a person requires effective pain relief not achieved with an NSAID, then I would use a narcotic. Dipryone might be considered for someone with a life-threatening fever that can't be treated otherwise" Randy Trinkle, BScPharm, BA [mailto://rtrinkle@pris.bc.ca] Once again, Thanks for help me, Arturo Marti-Carvajal Venezuela -- Send mail for the `E-Drug' conference to `e-drug@usa.healthnet.org'. 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