藥物警訊

Flurbiprofen-Containing Topical Pain Medications: FDA Alert - Illnesses and Deaths in Pets Exposed to Prescription Topical Pain Medication

AUDIENCE: Health Professional, Pharmacy, Consumer, Veterinary

ISSUE: FDA is alerting pet owners, veterinarians, health care providers and pharmacists that pets are at risk of illness and death when exposed to topical pain medications containing the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) flurbiprofen. People using these medications should use care when applying them in a household with pets, as even very small amounts could be dangerous to these animals.

The FDA received reports of cats in two households that became ill or died after their owners used topical medications containing flurbiprofen on themselves to treat muscle, joint, or other pain. The pet owners had applied the cream or lotion to their own neck or feet, and not directly to the pet, and it is not known exactly how the cats became exposed to the medication. The products contained the NSAID flurbiprofen and the muscle relaxer cyclobenzaprine, as well as other varying active ingredients, including baclofen, gabapentin, lidocaine, or prilocaine.

BACKGROUND: Two cats in one household developed kidney failure and recovered with veterinary care. Two cats in a second household developed signs that included reluctance to eat, lethargy, vomiting, melena (black, tarry, bloody stools), anemia, and dilute urine. These two cats died despite veterinary care. A third cat in the second household also died after the owner had stopped using the medication. Veterinarians performed necropsies on the three cats that died and found evidence in the kidneys and intestines that were consistent with NSAID toxicity.

RECOMMENDATION: FDA recommends that people who use topical medications containing flurbiprofen take care to prevent their pets from being exposed to them, even in ways that may seem unlikely to cause problems. Health care providers who prescribe topical pain medications containing flurbiprofen, and pharmacists who fill these prescriptions, should advise patients with pets to take care to prevent exposure of the pet to the medication.

Read the MedWatch safety alert, including a link to the FDA CVM Alert, at:
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHuma...

FDA發布安全警訊，提醒飼主或醫療照顧者應留意寵物若暴露於含有非類固醇消炎止痛藥成分flurbiprofen之外用藥品下，即使藥量很少，也可能發生寵物生病或死亡之風險。

FDA日前接獲因飼主使用含flubiprofen成分用於治療肌肉、關節或其他疼痛之外用藥品，而導致家中飼養的貓生病或死亡的案例報告。這些飼主皆曾於頸部或腿部塗抹含此成分的藥膏或藥水，且非塗抹後立即接觸寵物，故並不知情已使其暴露於這些藥物之下。這些外用藥品含有非類固醇消炎止痛藥成分flurbiprofen、肌肉鬆弛劑cyclobenzaprine，以及其他有效成分，如baclofen, gabapentin, lidocaine或prilocaine。

其中2隻貓併發腎衰竭，於獸醫照顧之下已康復；2隻出現厭食、疲倦、嘔吐、黑便、貧血和稀尿等症狀，經治療後不治；另1隻在飼主停藥後仍死亡。經獸醫鑑定，這些貓死亡的原因與非類固醇消炎止痛藥(NSAID)毒性有關。

FDA建議大眾，當使用含以上成份之外用藥品時，應留意避免家中寵物接觸到，醫療照護人員也應提醒病人家中若有飼養寵物，應小心其接觸到這些藥品。

相關訊息與連結請參考FDA網址：

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHuma...

資料來源：美國FDA之藥物安全警訊
資料提供：台大醫院藥劑部