Prescription Drugs Cause Death

By Michael Dorausch, D.C.

If you have been reading Planet Chiropractic news for any length of time you are probably getting tired (if not already tired) of the numerous “drugs cause death” articles we continue to publish day in and day out. You may be asking, “can’t we move on to something else?” Yes, when we stop seeing headlines such as these from todays news… “Deadly Drug Side Effects a Major Problem”.

Before we get into the article, please understand that many still do not know there are risks associated with taking drugs. On top of that, they don’t know that you are saving lives each and every day without involving drug use. Humor me, print this and share it with someone in your practice. I’ll bet they or someone they know will be getting this information for the first time.

A research study from Norway published in this weeks issue of The Archives of Internal Medicine has concluded that drug-related side effects may contribute to many hospital deaths.

The journal article opens with the following… “Drug therapy is associated with adverse effects, and fatal adverse drug events (ADEs) have become major hospital problems” which is a fancy way of saying drugs increase one’s risk of death.

The study involved 732 patients who died while in the hospital. Results from this study found that 18.9% involved died as a result of the drugs they took, either directly or indirectly. The study also found that a higher number of drugs administered was associated with a higher frequency of death. Basically, taking more drugs increases your risk of death.

In a Yahoo News article covering the same study, researchers had concluded that in many of the drug-related deaths, the drugs were prescribed correctly. The article also states, “Very few of the drug-related fatal effects were included in the patient’s medical chart or reported to hospital authorities.”

Imagine this if you will, you enter a hospital for the treatment of some condition. When all procedures are followed correctly and you receive the appropriate care in such a setting, there is a near 20% chance you will end up in the basement rather than walking out the front door.

I’m hoping you’ll find better odds elsewhere. Do something about your health today to minimize your risk tomorrow.

Arch Intern Med. 2001;161:2317-2323: Drug-Related Deaths in a Department of Internal Medicine
Yahoo News: Deadly Drug Side Effects a Major Problem