Trending News Today: FDA Identifies Risks with Some Hepatitis C Drugs

Officials with the FDA identified risks from certain drugs used to treat hepatitis C virus (HCV) in some patients, Reuters reported. According to the article, the agency said on Wednesday that it found 53 cases of worsening liver function in certain patients taking the HCV drugs Mavyret, Zepatier, and Vosevi. Although the treatments are safe and effective, the FDA had received reports of rare but serious instances of worsening liver function or failure when they were taken by patients with advanced liver disease, the article reported.

The FDA said on Wednesday that patients face very low risks from ongoing contamination issues with widely prescribed blood pressure drugs, including valsartan, losartan, and irbesartan, The Associated Press reported. According to the article, manufacturers have issued more than 50 recalls since last July linked to low levels of a probable cancer-causing chemical found in the drugs. The agency said that the actual risk to patients from the contaminated medications is likely lower than originally stated, the article reported.

Tramadol may increase the risk of developing hypoglycemia more than almost every other opioid except methadone, MD Magazine reported. According to the article, researchers examined approximately 12 million reports from the FDA Adverse Effect Reporting System and Adverse Event Reporting System databases dated between January 2004 and March 2019. Overall, the data showed that patients receiving tramadol had a 10-fold greater risk of hypoglycemia compared with other opioids, the article reported.