DutchNews.nl,
Thursday 24 October 2013
Up to 27
Dutch women may have died from the side effects of contraceptive pill Diane-35,
which is far more than thought earlier, according to television current affairs
show Zembla.
The
programme, to be screened on Thursday night, claims most of the women died of a
pulmonary lung embolism. Most were also under the age of 30.
Diane-35
has been available in the Netherlands since 1987. Some 160,000 women are
thought to use Diane-35, which is mainly prescribed to treat acne and excessive
facial hair but is also used widely as a contraceptive.
Side-effects
When
problems first surfaced with the drug in France earlier this year, hundreds of
reports of problems in the Netherlands were made to the Lareb laboratory, which
specialises in studying the side-effects of drugs.
Earlier
this year, Lareb said there is evidence 18 women died because of the drug. The
total, according to Zembla, has now gone up as more reports have been
investigated.
Many of the
complaints date back several years, a fact which the organisation says is
worrying. Healthcare officials are supposed to report serious side-effects as
they happen.
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