A lingering mistake
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《加拿大医疗协会学报》
I would like to draw attention to a bizarre reference that occurs in a commentary by Robert Rangno in a 1997 issue of CMAJ. The author puts dimenhydrinate on the same plane as astemizole and gives the unassailable R.L. Woosley as a reference. I quote:
Is any antihistamine safe? Even rare fatal events are a high price to pay for the symptomatic relief of hayfever. What about older, less costly drugs, or the newer nonsedating antihistamines? Woosley has classified these alternatives as follows: cardiotoxic drugs, i.e., terfenadine, astemizole, diphenhydramine, dimenhydrinate. These prolong the QT interval and have been fatal.1
Except that this is false. Woosley does not even mention this compound in his article in the cited article.2 I know it is long after the fact. But the Internet search system is such that when one does a search of dimenhydrinate and QT, one immediately comes across Rangno's article, and the misinformation continues to circulate, relying on the Woosley association, which no one seeks to question. In my opinion, a way ought to be found to prevent this from continuing. One wastes a lot of time verifying this type of information. Certainly no one will think to do it, given the authority of Woosley.
REFERENCES
Rangno R. Terfenadine therapy: Can we justify the risks? [editorial] CMAJ 1997;157(1):37-8.
Woosley RL. Cardiac actions of antihistamines. Annu Rev Pharmacol Toxicol 1996;36:223-32.(Jacques Weissenburger)
Is any antihistamine safe? Even rare fatal events are a high price to pay for the symptomatic relief of hayfever. What about older, less costly drugs, or the newer nonsedating antihistamines? Woosley has classified these alternatives as follows: cardiotoxic drugs, i.e., terfenadine, astemizole, diphenhydramine, dimenhydrinate. These prolong the QT interval and have been fatal.1
Except that this is false. Woosley does not even mention this compound in his article in the cited article.2 I know it is long after the fact. But the Internet search system is such that when one does a search of dimenhydrinate and QT, one immediately comes across Rangno's article, and the misinformation continues to circulate, relying on the Woosley association, which no one seeks to question. In my opinion, a way ought to be found to prevent this from continuing. One wastes a lot of time verifying this type of information. Certainly no one will think to do it, given the authority of Woosley.
REFERENCES
Rangno R. Terfenadine therapy: Can we justify the risks? [editorial] CMAJ 1997;157(1):37-8.
Woosley RL. Cardiac actions of antihistamines. Annu Rev Pharmacol Toxicol 1996;36:223-32.(Jacques Weissenburger)