E-DRUG: drug shortage Pakistan

[Margriet_den_Boer@amsterdam.msf.org (Margriet DEN BOER)]

The drug shortage in Pakistan will not be solved on short term by national
manufacturing. Temporarily the problem could be resolved by importing these
drugs using international quality wholesalers.  For example, IDA has in her
assortment chlorpromazine (tablets), fluphenazine decanoate (inj),
haloperidol (tablets + injection), amitryptiline and biperidene (tablets)
for very fair prices (e.g. 1000 amitryptiline tablets 25 mg for app. 5 US
dollar). Haloperidol tablets and fluphenazine decanoate (depot-injection, a
fenothiazine derivate) can serve as a replacement for thiouridazine
(fenothiazinederivate), because they have a similar antipsychotic action.
Procyclidine is used in the treatment of extrapyrimidal symptoms caused by
some antipsychotics, (but is not helpful in the treatment of tardive
dyskinesias). For this purpose, biperidene, which has the same
anticholinergic action, can be used as well.  

I hope this information will be helpful.
     
Margriet den Boer
Pharmacist MSF Holland
Pharmacist in psychiatry, Holland  

 
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