E-DRUG: Metamizole (Dipyrone) no longer priority medicine in Tajikistan
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Dear e-druggers,
The Pharmaceutical and Medical Equipment Department (PMED) in Ministry
of Health of the Republic of Tajikistan will be pleased to delete
Metamizole (Dipyrone; Analgin, etc.) from the priority list of medicines
used by practitioners. PMED already provided the Ministry of Health with
the reason why not to use it anymore. But after discussing with
clinician it did not seem to be a sufficient reason for them to ban it.
Even if metamizole does not belong anymore to the Essential Medicines
List, its use is ongoing.
Currently, in cases of high fever or severe pain, practitioners use 'a
lethal cocktail' containing metamizole and diphenydramine in injection.
Metamizole is widely used for high fever or severe pain for both adult
and children.
We will be pleased if you could share with us your experience in banning
this medicine and give them replacement therapy used in your country
after banning the medicine.
Thanks in advance for your answer.
[I think paracetamol is a suitable alternative for fever. For severe pain when paracetamol is not enough, we use morphine. In Norway metamizole was used for colic pain, we now use NSAIDs such as diclofenac for injection, an opioid can also be used. The reintroduction of metamizole in Sweden (see e-drug archives) found that it was when the medicine was used for longer than the recommended maximum of three days the side effects appeared. KM]
Best regards,