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U.S. Troops In Iraq Receiving Dangerous Hemophilia Drug

November 20, 2006

A blood-clotting drug that has been linked to heart attack, stroke, and death is being used on wounded soldiers in Iraq, according to an investigative report published in yesterday's Baltimore Sun.

More than 1,000 U.S. troops have received Recombinant Activated Factor VII, which is used to treat rare forms of hemophilia affecting less than 3,000 Americans. Military doctors say the drug is useful for controlling fatal hemorrhaging in wounded soldiers.

It's a completely irresponsible and inappropriate use of a very, very dangerous drug, said Dr. Jawed Fareed, a specialist in blood-clotting and thinning medications at Loyola University in Chicago.

The FDA issued a warning last December stating that the drug could cause heart attack and stroke in patients without the rare blood disorder. In January, researchers published a study linking the drug to 43 deaths.

Despite such evidence, U.S. military command in Iraq is advocating use of the drug. When it works, it's amazing. It's one of the most useful new tools we have, said Col. John B. Holcomb, commander of the Army's Institute of Surgical Research.

However, a number of reports of unexplained blood clots, strokes and heart attacks in soldiers evacuated from Iraq have recently been made by doctors at military hospitals in the U.S. and Germany.

Officials with the Danish pharmaceutical company that manufactures the drug, Novo Nordisk, said the question is less about drug safety and more about whether the benefits outweigh the risks. The drug costs $6,000 per dose.

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