Ketek® Injury Attorneys: The San Diego Offices of Kerry Steigerwalt's Pacific Law Center
Many drugs on the market today have not received adequate screening. In May 2006, Congressmen Edward Markey and Henry Waxman described the process used by the FDA to approve the prescription drug Ketek® as "seriously flawed." Fortunately, the Ketek® injury attorneys in the San Diego offices of Kerry Steigerwalt's Pacific Law Center have the knowledge and experience to protect the rights of the public as health consumers.
If you suspect that you’ve suffered a Ketek®-related injury, contact us in San Diego regarding your options.
Ketek® Information
Ketek® is a brand name for an antibiotic, telithromycin. It’s a prescription-only oral drug used to treat serious lung and sinus infections in adults, here in the United States and in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. The FDA issued a public health advisory warning about Ketek® in January 2006, shortly after it was reported that three people in the United States suffered serious liver toxicity after taking Ketek®. One of the three patients died, and another had to undergo a liver transplant.
Ketek® is the first and so far the only ketolide antibiotic on the market, and the first and only one to be approved by the FDA (in April 2004) for the treatment of respiratory infections in adults. Ketolides were developed as an attempt to overcome the increasing resistance of some bacteria to the existing antibiotics.
The FDA’s Public Health Advisory About Ketek®
The FDA’s advisory states that physicians should carefully monitor patients for whom they’ve prescribed Ketek®, watching for signs of liver problems; the advisory also recommends that Ketek® use be discontinued for patients with such signs. The advisory warns patients using Ketek® that if they experience any yellowing of their skin or eyes or develop blurry vision, they should contact a healthcare provider immediately.
The Medical Problems For Which Ketek® Is Prescribed
Ketek® was designed to kill certain bacteria. Many types of bacteria cause respiratory infections in humans, but not all respiratory infections are caused by bacteria, and not all respiratory infections are treated with an antibiotic such as Ketek®.
If you have been diagnosed with:
- Mild or moderate AECB (acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis),
- Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), or
- Acute bacterial sinusitis,
Ketek® may have been prescribed for you — these are its three indicated uses. It’s possible that your doctor prescribed it for you for some other condition, but check with him or her to determine this. Ketek® comes in tablet form, and the prescribed dosing is two tablets per day. If you suspect that you’ve suffered a Ketek®-related injury or health problem, our Ketek® attorneys in the San Diego offices of the Kerry Steigerwalt's Pacific Law Center can advise you.
To learn more about the issues surrounding Ketek®-related injury and illness, contact the Ketek ® attorneys in San Diego at Kerry Steigerwalt's Pacific Law Center today.
