Painkiller recall puts
isle patients in limbo

Tammy Martin hated to give it up.

"I really like Vioxx," she said yesterday with a laugh. "The Vioxx did work for me. But I have to look at the risks."

Recall information For more information on the Vioxx recall, go to www.vioxx.com or call 888-368-4699.

Martin is one of dozens of residents statewide who have talked to their doctors about getting off Vioxx since Thursday, when producer Merck & Co. announced it would stop selling the prescription painkiller after clinical trials found long-term use could increase a patient's risk of heart attack and stroke.

Hawaii physicians said their offices were bogged down throughout the day with calls from concerned patients who were on the drug, which is widely prescribed for arthritis. Patients were advised to stop taking Vioxx immediately, the doctors said, and in most cases given another medication.

"It's been busy," said Straub Clinic & Hospital rheumatologist Dr. Alberto Santos-Ocampo, who got messages from about 12 Vioxx users yesterday and saw about five more. "Patients are asking about ... what will they take now that they can't continue Vioxx and what are the long-term consequences" of taking the drug.

But Santos-Ocampo and other doctors said they expected calls from more patients who have yet to hear about the recall.

"I think the word is getting out," said Dr. Kathleen Kozak, of Straub's internal medicine department, "and I think people are not yet fully understanding what it means."

She said she got about 15 phone calls from Vioxx users. Another 10 users came in to see her about it.

"There are lot of people who may have upcoming appointments, who will probably stop in over the next few days," she said. "I do expect the inquiries to continue."

The American Association of Retired Persons' local office also received several calls yesterday and advised Vioxx users to consult with their doctors.

"Vioxx is obviously one of the most successful drugs on the market," said AARP state Director Greg Marchildon, who handled many of the phone calls from users. "What this (recall) does is it creates a climate of ... people being frantic and hysterical because of the amount of people taking Vioxx on a regular basis."

Martin said she got off Vioxx Thursday, just a few hours after the announcement was made. She had been taking it for a pinched nerve in her neck.

"I actually just had a doctor's appointment ... and he said, 'You can't take it (Vioxx) anymore,'" said Martin, a manager at Straub Pearlridge. She has since been switched to Celebrex.

Kozak said some of patients, especially those who have been on Vioxx for years, were concerned that the drug could have had an effect on their cardiovascular health. She said physicians do not yet know enough to give patients guidance about the long-term side effects of Vioxx.

Dr. Mary Ann Antonelli, division chief of rheumatology at the University of Hawaii's John A. Burns Medical Center, said that long before the recall, many doctors chose not to prescribe Vioxx to people with cardiovascular problems because of studies that linked the medicine with a higher risk of heart attack or stroke.

"It seems to be a reasonably effective drug for pain," she said, "but it's not for everybody."