asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give the latest figures for the number of reports received by the Committee on Safety of Medicines of adverse reactions and deaths thought to be associated with Opren; and if he will give the particulars of the reports, and categories the side effects giving the numbers for each category.
The information requested, at 6 January 1983, is as follows. It is emphasised that the reports do not necessarily indicate a casual relationship, either between drug and suspected reaction or between drug and death, in all cases.
| Type of suspected reaction | Number of reports | Number of reports deaths thought due to suspected reaction |
| Skin disorders | 2,815 | 4 |
| Muscular/skeletal disorders | 9 | — |
| Collagen disorders | 3 | — |
| Central nervous system disorders | 95 | — |
| Autonomic nervous system disorders | 22 | — |
| Visual disorders | 78 | — |
| Hearing disorders | 8 | — |
| Disorders of other special senses | 9 | — |
Type of suspected reaction
| Number of reports
| Number of deaths thought due to suspected reaction
|
| Psychiatric disorders | 54 | — |
| Gastro-intestinal disorders | 338 | 19 |
| Liver disorders | 91 | 31 |
| Metabolic and nutritional disorders | 24 | — |
| Cardiac and cardiovascular disorders | 4 | 2 |
| Peripheral vascular disorders | 36 | — |
| Respiratory disorders | 32 | — |
| Blood disorders | 83 | 13 |
| Kidney disorders | 79 | 7 |
| Reproductive system disorders | 10 | — |
| General disorders | 34 | — |
| Other | 3 | — |
| Total | 3,827 | 76 |
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to the reply of 23 December, Official Report, c. 681–2, whether the information provided by Eli Lilly regarding the administration of Opren to elderly patients suggested that there was any significant difference in the reaction of the elderly to the drug compared with younger patients or that the dosage of the drugs should be varied for elderly people.
I would refer the right hon. Member to the reply given to him by my hon. Friend the Member for Hampstead (Mr. Finsberg) on 23 December 1982.—[Vol. 34, c. 681–82.]