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Swine flu: 'Tamiflu harm outweighs benefits for children'
Children should not be given the anti-viral drug Tamiflu for swine flu because its harms outweigh any benefits, Oxford researchers have said.
Published: 11:37AM BST 10 Aug 2009
see: http://digg.com/d310Fqc also http://linkbee.com/tamiflu
Their study found that Tamiflu caused vomiting in some
children, which can lead to dehydration and complications
Photo: REUTERS They called on the Department of Health to
have an urgent rethink of its current policy in the swine
flu <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/swine-flu/> pandemic.
Their study found that Tamiflu caused vomiting in some
children, which can lead to dehydration and complications.
Related Articles * Only one in ten people complaining of flu
actually have swine flu
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/swine-flu/6061534/Only-one-in-ten-people-complaining-of-flu-actually-have-swine-flu.html>
* * Tamiflu 'linked to side effects among children', reports
find
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/swine-flu/5943331/Tamiflu-linked-to-side-effects-among-children-reports-find.html>
* * Swine flu: cases may be peaking
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/swine-flu/5940977/Swine-flu-cases-may-be-peaking.html>
And the drug had little or no effect on asthma flare-ups, ear
infections or the likelihood of a youngster needing
antibiotics.
Dr Carl Henegan, a GP and expert from the John Radcliffe
Hospital in Oxford, said the current policy of giving
Tamiflu for mild illness was an "inappropriate strategy".
He added: "The downside of the harms outweigh the one-day
reduction in symptomatic benefits."
The study comes little over a week after other research found
that children given Tamiflu preventatively reported
side-effects including nausea and nightmares.
Researchers analysed four studies involving children aged one
to 12 taking Tamiflu or another anti-viral, Relenza.
The children were being treated for normal seasonal flu but
the experts behind the research said their findings would
extend to the current swine flu pandemic.
Dr Matthew Thompson, a GP and researcher at Oxford
University, said: "I don't think we have got any reason to
think our results would be any different.
"The current swine flu is generally a mild flu illness... it
does not seem that different from current seasonal flu.
"We would be happy to say our results apply to the current
swine flu strain."
He said children with mild symptoms should be treated in the
same way as if they had any other mild flu - with drinks to
cool high temperatures and rest.
There was no need for children who were otherwise healthy to
be taking Tamiflu or Relenza.
Parents should be on their guard, however, for any potential
complications and signs that their child is getting worse,
he said.
For children with compromised immune systems or conditions
like cystic fibrosis, parents may want to discuss the
options with their GP.
"I think what GPs should do is to weigh up the risks and
benefits with the parent," he said.
Dr Henegan said the only benefit found in the study was that
children got back to normal half a day to one day earlier if
taking Tamiflu or Relenza.
He said his advice to GPs was "not to rely on Tamiflu as a
treatment to reduce complications" or to think of it as a
"magic bullet".
And he warned that widespread use of Tamiflu could result in
the flu becoming resistant to the drug.
"What is a problem going forward - like with antibiotics - is
you run into a resistance issue.
"Going forward we have a treatment which is ineffective
because we've given it to everybody."
Both researchers called on the Department of Health to review
its current policy.
Dr Thompson said: "It's possible a more conservative strategy
(such as) reserving these anti-viral drugs for people, for
children who are more likely to have complications of the
illness might be a more sensible strategy."
Dr Henegan added: "I think the Government should be looking
at this urgently, this week."
The experts said the studies had been publicly available to
the Government before it formulated its current strategy
with regard to Tamiflu.
And they said the Government should have demanded more data
from the pharmaceutical companies which manufacture the
drugs - Roche, which makes Tamiflu, and GlaxoSmithKline,
which makes Relenza.
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