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News and updates from palliativedrugs.com
  1. Andrew Wilcock1 and
  2. Sarah Charlesworth2
  1. 1 Department of Palliative Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
  2. 2 Hayward House Study Centre, Nottingham University Hospitals, Nottingham, UK
  1. Correspondence to Sarah Charlesworth, Hayward House Study Centre, Nottingham University Hospitals, City Campus, Hucknall Road, Nottingham NG5 1PB, UK; s.charlesworth{at}nhs.net

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjspcare-2017-001365

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    Safety updates

    MHRA warning regarding hyoscine butylbromide

    The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) published a warning in February 2017 reminding health professionals about the risk of serious adverse effects with hyoscine butylbromide injection intravenously/intramuscularly in patients with underlying cardiac disease. This followed a recent fatality (cardiac arrest) and a subsequent recommendation from the coroner to clarify the cautions section in Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC). The MHRA stated that they had received nine reports of patients who had died following receiving hyoscine butylbromide injection and published the following advice:

    • Hyoscine butylbromide injection can cause serious adverse effects, including tachycardia, hypotension and anaphylaxis.

    • These adverse effects can result in a fatal outcome in patients with underlying cardiac disease, such as those with heart failure, coronary heart disease, cardiac arrhythmia or hypertension.

    • Hyoscine butylbromide injection should be used with caution in patients with cardiac …

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    Footnotes

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    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.