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FDA Issues Heartburn Drug Warning June 30, 1998 WASHINGTON - The Associated Press via NewsEdge Corporation : The government urged doctors Monday to prescribe heartburn patients every reasonable alternative before trying the drug Propulsid, issuing new warnings that it may cause serious heart problems. The Food and Drug Administration strengthened warnings on Propulsid's label after reports of hearth rhythm abnormalities, including 38 deaths, since the pill hit the market in 1993. The FDA noted that it cannot prove the drug caused any deaths, but said Propulsid _ approved specifically for nighttime heartburn _ already was known to cause heart arrhythmias when taken together with certain other medicines. Monday's action strengthens those warnings, adding newly discovered drug interactions and a list of other illnesses that increase the risk. Manufacturer Janssen Pharmaceutica wrote thousands of doctors and pharmacists Monday to alert them to the strengthened warnings. The warnings say: _Never prescribe Propulsid, known chemically as cisapride, to patients taking a list of other drugs, including such antibiotics as erythromycin, antifungals such as ketoconazole, certain antidepressants or any AIDS drugs known as protease inhibitors. _Never prescribe Propulsid to patients with congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, advanced cancer or electrolyte disorders, including dehydration and vomiting. Also do not give it to patients needing acute-care diuretic or insulin treatment. There are some people who still could benefit from Propulsid, said FDA drug chief Dr. Murray Lumpkin. But ``this really ought to be the drug for after you've tried everything else,'' he stressed. John Stafford -- http://pw2.netcom.com/~johnws/index.html -- [log in to unmask] ................... Si fallatis officium, quaestor infinitius eat se quicquam scire de factis vestris.