Warning! One buflomedil may hide another one!
A 75-year-old woman experienced fever and convulsions. She was treated for diabetes mellitus, angina pectoris and also for arteritis with Buflomedil Merck (3 tab/d). Further investigations failed to find any aetiology. Buflomedil dosage was elevated to 6.3 mg/l (N = 4-4.5 mg/l). The drug was discontinued and there was no recurrence of symptoms. There was no evidence of error in dosage or interaction. A failure of the generic product was suspected. Only a pharmacist solved the problem. Fonzylane (buflomedil) had recently been switched to Buflomedil Merck. The patient misunderstood the change and took both drugs! Our purpose is not to report a known effect but to emphasize the importance of extending the information given to the patient and the risk of misuse of the generic product.
Chiffoleau
A
A
Centre Régional de Pharmacovigilance, Institut de Biologie, Nantes, France.
Yatim
D
D
Garrec
F
F
Veyrac
G
G
Raoult
P
P
Larousse
C
C
Bourin
M
M
D000317:Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000368:Aged; D004348:Drug Labeling; D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D016568:Drugs, Generic / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011759:Pyrrolidines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use
D000317:Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists; D016568:Drugs, Generic; D011759:Pyrrolidines; C010651:buflomedil