E-DRUG: Falsified hydrochlorothiazide tablets containing glibenclamide in Cameroon
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Dear colleagues,
on April 16, WHO issued an alert on falsified hydrochlorothiazide
tablets in Cameroon which contain no hydrochlorothiazide but
glibenclamide (5 mg/tablet).
The tablets are labelled Hydrochlorothiazide 50 mg Sterop; Lot: 16G04 Fab: 06/2017 Ex: 30/05/2021".
Further details and photos of the falsified medicines are given in the WHO Medical Product Alert N° 6/2019, published on
www.who.int/medicines/publications/drugalerts/en/
We had analyzed this falsified medicine in our university laboratory,
and we are very concerned since it represents a serious risk to patients.
Cases of severe hypoglycemia have been reported in Cameroon as
a result from the ingestion of this falsified medicine. Glibenclamide is
known to be associated with a risk of severe hypoglycemia, and fatal
outcomes have been reported in the literature even with small doses of
glibenclamide (2.5-5 mg/day)
(Asplund et al. [1983] Diabetologia 24(6):412-7; Amiel et al. [2008] Diabet. Med. 25, 245–254).
- Especially if glibenclamide is taken by non-diabetic patients (i.e. by patients
without increased blood sugar levels), and/or by patients who have not
been educated how to recognize and how to respond to symptoms of
hypoglycemia, and/or taken without subsequent intake of food,
hypoglycemic shock and even death may result.
Please further disseminate this information, especially in Cameroon and neighbouring Nigeria, so that this dangerous falsification can be removed from circulation as
completely as possible.
Kind regards, Best wishes from Tuebingen
Lutz
Prof. Dr. Lutz Heide, Simon Schaefermann and Cathrin Hauk
Pharmaceutical Institute, University of Tuebingen, Germany
Auf der Morgenstelle 8, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
Lutz Heide <heide@uni-tuebingen.de>