An advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration narrowly voted to recommend a ban of two of the most popular prescription painkillers—Percocet and Vicodin—because of harm they can cause to the liver.

Percocet and Vicodin both combine a narcotic (oxycodone in Percocet, hydrocodone in Vicodin) with acetaminophen, a pain reliever commonly found in over-the-counter medications like Tylenol and Excedrin. Acetaminophen is used to relieve headaches and fevers, but is also known to cause liver damage. High doses of acetaminophen are the leading cause of liver damage around the country.

The FDA is not forced to act on the recommendations of the panel, but they usually do. If the FDA does decide to ban Percocet and Vicodin, doctors will still be able to prescribe their contents (the narcotic and acetaminophen) separately. Though doctors have this option now, many opt for the combination drugs because it makes the process of treating pain easier on patients, doctors, and pharmacists.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 6th, 2009 at 6:02 pm and is filed under Narcotic, Safety. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.