Fears over (experimental) drug for (British) troops in Iraq

[deadparrot]

British soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan are being treated with an experimental drug that has not been fully tested.

The Ministry of Defence is giving soldiers an experimental blood clotting drug called NovoSeven, the Guardian reports.

It says that because randomised controlled trials have not yet been carried out it is impossible to judge the drug's effectiveness. But the MoD said the drug has only been authorised after "an extensive review of the current evidence".

Liberal Democrat MP Phil Willis, chairman of the science and technology select committee, said the MoD's decision was "a dereliction of its duty of care that indicates a moral bankruptcy within the military." And an expert in trauma care has warned "there is potential for harm".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uklatest/story/0,,-6084216,00.html

[Monkeyman]

1. Dam I hope they do sue

[Kagemusha]

2. And if it saves lives instead? Will they still sue, over being alive?

Wrongful life?

[Monkeyman]

3. You know me better then that

If it hurts and does not help. Or if its cause more deaths then sue. If it saves lifes then stand and clap. I just like people doing things to troops without consequences

[A Simple Game]

4. Will they still sue, over being alive?

No, they should sue because the end does not justify the means.

I am sure that the job description for an English soldier does not include guinea pig.

[Kagemusha]

5. Wouldn't be the first military guinea pigs. Not saying that's right,

but it sure wouldn't be the first time.

If the end DIDN'T justify the means, there wouldn't be armies in the first place, either. ...But having said all that, I have no idea if this thing actually works, or has side effects, or what. I just don't. But letting people bleed to death when an option's available for saving a person's life in the present at the potential risk of something 20 years down the road going wrong, well, it's not hard for me to see what choice a medic would make in that situation. Just saying.

[A Simple Game]

6. I am sorry I reduced this to black and white.

It is much more than that.

Supposedly from the article, it is "only authorized when conventional medical treatments have failed."

Seems in many cases, to my thinking , if you wait for authorization it would be too late.

[Kagemusha]

7. I read it again and noticed how expensive these doses are...

But the critics are arguing for financing more RESEARCH instead. They're not claiming there's a cheaper better treatment in this particular article. ....Guess it's not the easiest issue.

Conventional treatments have improved a lot so more lives are getting saved that way. Which is good... too bad the advances are being wasted on wars like Afghanistan.

[maddezmom]

8. FDA say it may cause heart attacks or deaths

Wounded Iraq troops given danger drug
Holly Watt and Robert Winnett



THE Ministry of Defence has been accused of playing “Russian roulette” with soldiers’ lives after it admitted using an unlicensed drug linked to 67 deaths in America.
Troops suffering severe injuries in Iraq have been treated with NovoSeven, a drug only licensed for haemophiliacs.



The US Food and Drug Administration published research this year on its unofficial use for non-haemophilia purposes that showed it may have caused heart attacks and deaths.

In April European regulators raised concerns about its wider use that led the drug’s Danish manufacturers to withdraw an application for a more general licence here. Further clinical tests are being conducted to assess its safety.



more:http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2361438,00.html