§ Mr. Tierneyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services, what is the current total of patients, as compared with a year ago, who are known to have suffered eye damage, skin rashes, deafness, sclerosing peritonitis and other illnesses from the side effects of the drug Eraldin (practolol).
§ Mr. Moyle:By 30th November 1978 the Committee on Safety of Medicines has received 2,185 reports of patients who had developed suspected adverse reactions to Eraldin (practolol) as compared with 1,623 reports a year before. These reports include about 1,130 references to eye damage, 1,256 to skin reactions, 309 232W to deafness, 197 to sclerosing peritonitis and 589 to other manifestations of practolol—induced illness. Many reports concern patients with more than one of these conditions. Most of the suspected reactions occurred before or during 1974 when a possible association with Eraldin was first recognised. A cause-effect relationship cannot be assumed in every case.