Medicines: the comprehensive guide

609 Pages·2002·10.07 MB·English

by  Ian Morton

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Dr Ian Mortongraduated with a First Class Honours B.Sc.in
Pharmacology from Chelsea College,University ofLondon.
He gained a Ph.D.from University College London,where he was
appointed Lecturer in Pharmacology in 1965.He then moved to
King’s College London where he became Senior Lecturer in
Pharmacology until his retirement.He is now a consultant editor
and writer in pharmacology.He is the author ofmore than one
hundred research papers,books and monographs.
Dr Judith Hallgraduated with a First Class Honours B.Sc.in
Pharmacology from King’s College London where she went on to
obtain a Ph.D.She has occupied positions in biomedical science at
King’s College London and the University ofSurrey since 1988.In
1995 she was awarded a Wellcome Trust Medical Research
Fellowship.She is the author ofmore than fifty research papers,
reviews,books and monographs,and has been an Editor ofthe
British Journal ofPharmacology.
Drs Morton and Hall have a keen interest in explaining about
drugs and how they work to the non-specialist,and since 1988
have worked together both in writing and editing more than
a dozen books as well as contributing to numerous encyclopaedias
and medical dictionaries aimed at the general public in both the UK
and abroad.They now devote their energies entirely to popular and
specialist medical writing.
BY THE SAME AUTHORS
Antibiotics
Medicines for Children
Tranquillizers
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The ROYAL SOCIETY of MEDICINE
MEDICINES
THE COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE
SIXTH EDITION
Dr Ian Morton and Dr Judith Hall
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While the creators ofthis work have made every effort to be as accurate
and up to date as possible,medical and pharmacological knowledge is
constantly changing and the application ofit in particular circumstances
depends on many factors.Therefore readers are urged always to consult a
qualified medical specialist for individual advice.The writers,researchers,
editors and publishers ofthis book and the Royal Society ofMedicine can not
be held liable for any errors and omissions,or actions that may be taken
as a consequence ofusing it,nor can they be held responsible for the
recommendations ofmanufacturers regarding uses ofproprietary medicines.
All rights reserved;no part ofthis publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system,or transmitted in any form or by any
means,mechanical,photocopying,electronic or otherwise,without
the prior written permission ofthe publishers.
This completely revised edition published in 2002 by
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
38 Soho Square
London W1D 3HB
www.bloomsburymagazine.com
Text and database copyright © 1995,1997,2000,2002
The Medicines Guide Ltd,London,representing Dr J M Hall and
Dr I K M Morton
Dr I K M Morton and Dr J M Hall assert their moral rights
to be identified as the authors ofthis work.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue for this book is available
from the British Library
ISBN 0 7475 5928 7
eISBN-13: 978-1-4081-0415-6
This book was produced using Librios®
authoring and content management technology.
www.librios.com
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
Clays Ltd,St Ives plc
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C O N T E N T S
Preface 7
How To Use This Book 9
Introduction 13
Medicines A–Z 27
Glossary 583
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P R E FA C E
This is the sixth edition ofMedicines: The ComprehensiveGuide– the most
popular and best-selling dictionary-style reference source-book for the
range ofmedicines,along with possible side-effects,that is available in the UK
today.Previous editions ofthis book have sold almost two million copies.The
text has been extensively revised – to take account ofthe many new drugs,
both generic and proprietary,as well as entire new drug groups,that have been
developed and marketed since publication ofthe fifth edition in2000.
Changes in details ofthose medicines that remain on the market are also
included.Requests from the public have led to the inclusion in this edition of
expanded warnings about possible interactions between drugs with other
medicines – especially those that can be obtained without a prescription –
herbal remedies and nutritional supplements.There is also an expanded
glossary ofmedical terms,which hopefully readers will find useful in
understanding some ofthe more technical terms.
This edition gives international spelling ofgeneric drug names
(recommended International Non-proprietary Name;rINN).This
changeover from British Approved Names (BAN) reflects the fact that drugs
are increasingly often licensed for use in all member states ofthe European
Union (EU) through the European Medicines Evaluation Agency (based in
London).But all main generic drug entries in this book give both names
(and some US versions),and all names listed A–Z are cross-indexed to the
main entries.
The purpose ofthe book is to give straightforward information on
constituent drug components ofmedicines,describing their uses,explaining
in an easy-to-access A–Z format how they work,what side-effects they may
have and special conditions or warnings there may be relating to their use.It
has been our aim to provide as full and useful a list as is possible and practical,
in such a changeable market,ofthe drug classes (eg antibiotics),non-
proprietary (generic) drugs (eg amoxicillin) and most ofthe proprietary
preparations (eg Amoxil) that are available.
There are some categories ofpreparations we have not felt it was either
possible or appropriate to include,however.In particular:[1] preparations of
vitamins and minerals that are part ofa normal balanced diet are not
included,although there are entries on medicines where vitamins and
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minerals are used medically to correct clinical deficiencies (for example,iron
preparations for anaemia,folic acid vitamin supplements in pregnancy);[2]
homeopathic or herbal remedies do not fall within the scope ofthe book,but
nevertheless there are many entries on drugs ofplant and natural origin,and
standardized plant extracts that are part ofeveryday medicine;[3] the ‘social’
and non-medical use ofdrugs is also not covered,although some medicines
used to treat drug-overdose and drug-dependence (addiction) are included.
Finally,it is important to note that this book is not intended to be a
guide to the prescription or administration ofdrugs,and it gives neither
doses nor recommendations regarding which drugs to use in particular
circumstances.A qualified practitioner should always be consulted before any
medicine is taken,and the person taking the drug should always read the
Patient Information Leaflet (PIL) that now comes with every prescription
dispensed.
We hope we have achieved our aim – to help in the public’s
understanding ofthe medicines that we all at some time have to take.
IKMM
JMH
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H O W TO U S E T H I S B O O K
The layout of this book was designed to be sufficiently
clear for it to be used without further instructions, but
some words of explanation may be helpful.
The main section ofthis book contains entries on the medical drugs (ie
medicines) available in the UK,listed A–Z.Drugs are listed under their
non-proprietary (generic) and proprietary (brand) names (both will
normally appear on packaging ofthe latter).There are also entries covering
the major drug groups that explain in more detail how they work and what
(cid:2)
they are used for.These are indicated by an after the name.The A–Z is
cross-referenced within the text ofone entry to further related entries.These
cross-references are indicated when the drug name is printed in the text in
SMALLCAPITALS.The side-effects and warnings to be borne in mind when
taking a drug are indicated by symbols – ✚for side-effects and (cid:3)for
warnings – in generic drugs entries.At the end ofthese articles there is a list
ofrelated entries – indicated by a ✪– which are the proprietary preparations
that contain that drug.
At the end ofthe A–Z section ofdrugs,there is a Glossary containing
explanations ofmany ofthe medical and technical terms used in the text,
which may be referred to ifthe reader wants clarification.
Following common practice,drugs are listed in two ways:
The generic name,without an initial capital letter,is the official
internationally agreed simplified chemical name ofa drug,which
unambiguously describes an active constituent ofa medicine.For instance,
paracetamol is the generic name ofan established and familiar drug.In the
case ofa particular generic formulation,such as paracetamol tablets,even
details concerning purity,the time taken for the tablets to dissolve and
accuracy ofdoses are subject to strict control as laid out in the British
Pharmacopoeia or other official standards.The generic name is now routinely
used in everyday medicine because this is less likely to be misunderstood.
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