Posted by Anyuser on August 21, 2002, at 11:02:21
In reply to Re: Knowledge, posted by dr. dave on August 21, 2002, at 8:58:35
1. For all the reasons that are dwelled upon on this board, FDA prescribing info should be viewed skeptically: the FDA is inept, the drug companies are corrupt, lawyers write the thing for lawyers, drug therapy in general is all placebo effect, the science is crap, the studies are too small and too short, etc, etc, etc. The fact remains that in the US there is officially sanctioned prescribing info that states "the overall incidence of adverse effects in 10mg Lexapro treated patients was similar to that of placebo treated patients." On that basis alone, I would not characterize a patient wanting to try that drug or a physician prescribing that drug as "just 'having a go' with something new in case it works."
2. It seems to me that skepticism about the science behind drug approvals can cut both ways. My pdoc, for what it's worth, says that in his clinical experience Serzone is far more effective than the published data indicates. My pdoc happens to be nuts ("barking mad" in the UK?). My point here is not that doctors and patients should hope for benefits not suggested by the scientific data. I do think, however, that clinical experience is a body of knowledge more important than the research data. For example, only 715 patients were tested in the Lexapro research. A busy pdoc would over the course of time have more experience, in absolute terms, with a greater number of patients than the researchers that got the drug approved. For another example, there are meta-surveys out there that "prove" scientfically that all ADs provide only placebo effect, yet you've got patients and practicing physicians that say they don't care what the meta-surveys say, ADs work, however imperfectly.
3. For me, and for most people I know, and for most doctors I know, doctor/patient relationships are evolving beyond what you imply about your practice.
poster:Anyuser
thread:109458
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020821/msgs/117232.html