Review article: over‐the‐counter drugs and the gastrointestinal tract

Abstract

An increasing number of drugs are becoming available over‐the‐counter, empowering patients to treat them‐ selves. Although drugs presently available over‐the‐counter are generally safe, there are issues of safety and possible delays in diagnosis of serious conditions. Therefore it is vital that patients are made aware of the indications and limitations of over‐the‐counter drugs through improved communication and education. Pharmacists and drug companies will have an increasingly important role in giving information and advice to patients. This review looks at the present and future of over‐the‐counter medication, highlighting the safety aspects.

Gastroenterology services in the UK. The burden of disease, and the organisation and delivery of services for gastrointestinal and liver disorders: a review of the evidence

“…These can be generally divided into the safety of methods of treatment (such as the use of NSAIDs and complementary medicine) and procedures (for example, endoscopy and surgery). A wide breadth of studies cover various aspects of treatment, [509][510][511][512][513][514][515][516][517][518] and are generally beyond the scope of this report. However, it is worth noting that the main concerns in this area are focused on ensuring that sufficient evidence and research is carried out to assess the safety of new drugs and treatments for GI disease, 509 510 515 which include over-thecounter drugs, 513 unlicensed and off-label drugs, 511 prescription of NSAIDs, 512 514 516 complementary medicines used by children, 518 and endoscopic therapy for acute non-variceal upper GI haemorrhage.…”

Analysis of the Movement of Prescription Drugs to Over-the-Counter Status

“…However, a link between the use of H 2 RAs and gastric or esophageal cancer has not been established. 18 The economic savings to managed care organizations (MCOs) and patients have been investigated in a number of studies. Kunz et al estimated that the OTC availability of H 2 RAs would result in $6 million savings over a 5-year period for a 260,000-member managed care organization, that is, a 25% reduction in the overall cost of treatment of nonsevere heartburn and nonulcer dyspepsia.…”

Associations between Hours Worked, Symptoms and Health Resource Utilization among Full‐time Male Japanese Workers

“…The results of this study show that workers choose to utilize health resources that require fewer hours as their number of hours worked per month increases. This may increase the risk of health problems for those working longer hours, with some studies suggesting the possibility of delays in the diagnosis of serious conditions owing to the masking by OTC medications of symptoms of severe disease 21,22) . Further, misuse, adverse reactions and interactions relating to the use of OTC medication and dietary supplements have been reported [22][23][24] .…”