Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Medical prescriptions

The article “Where the prescription looks like the laundry list!” (Open Page, Dec. 5) is bound to breed controversies as it challenges medical evidence. I am sure the medical fraternity will be hurt and the common man confused on reading it.

This is an era of evidence-based medicine and practice. All medical practitioners know that treating Diabetes Mellitus is not just about treating hyperglycaemia — increase in blood sugar. The disease per se is a constellation of signs and symptoms. Renowned health organisations like the American Diabetes Association, the International Diabetes Federation, the Research Society for the Study of Diabetes in India and the World Health Organisation, to name a few, based on evidence and research, recommend additional drugs like Aspirin (a blood thinner), statins (for the prevention of stroke and a cholesterol reducer), an ACE inhibitor and ARB (to control hypertension and prevent kidney damage) as co-drugs in the management of Diabetes Mellitus. This is done only to increase the patient's quality of life.

I suggest that such articles be forwarded to peer review committees of medical experts in the interest of the public.

Dr. Sumesh Balachandran,

Kochi

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