Public urged not to consume products for managing sexual
dysfunction with undeclared drug ingredients (June 04, 2008)
The Department of Health (DH)
strongly urged members of the public not to consume products for
managing male impotence from unknown sources following notification
from the Hospital Authority today (June 4) of two patients
seriously affected by this kind of products found to have contained
undeclared ingredients.
A DH spokesman said the affected men,
aged 76 and 87 respectively, were found collapsed in late May. Both
patients once required intensive care in Mainland China and Hong
Kong respectively. They are now under treatment in public
hospitals. One of them was still in serious condition and the other
in stable condition. Their urine specimen found the presence of
undeclared drug ingredients glibenclamide and sildenafil.
Investigation showed that both of
them had taken a kind of brick red rhomboid tablets. Laboratory
tests on the tablets found at their homes were confirmed to have
contained glibenclamide and sildenafil.
Further enquiries revealed that the
76-year-old man had also taken an unnamed blue/white capsule while
the 87-year-old had taken an unlabelled blue rhomboid drug. Both of
these drugs were found to have contained sildenafil.
In the past two weeks, DH
received notification of two other similar cases involving patients
taking brown rhomboid tablets. They claimed that the drug that they
had taken named "Jiu Bian Wang" (
).
The spokesman said that "Jiu Bian
Wang" was not a registered pharmaceutical product in Hong Kong.
DH's earlier laboratory tests on "Jiu Bian Wang" revealed the
presence of sildenafil and a high dosage of glibenclamide. DH's
further investigation into these cases is on-going.
Today's notification brings the
number of cases related to unregistered virility products to a
total of 58, affecting 56 men aged between 39 and 87. Among them,
two patients passed away.
The spokesman said that glibenclamide
is a diabetic drug. It could cause nausea and gastro-intestinal
upset. Improper use may cause a significant fall in blood sugar
level with serious health consequence and even death.
The side effects of sildenafil
include low blood pressure, headache, vomiting, dizziness, and
transient vision disturbances. It may interact with nitrates found
in some prescription drugs (such as nitroglycerin) and may lower
blood pressure of patients to dangerous levels. Improper use of
sildenafil may pose serious health risks, especially for patients
with heart problems.
Under the Pharmacy and Poisons
Ordinance of Hong Kong, products containing sildenafil or
glibenclamide must be registered before sale and can only be sold
on a doctor's prescription and under supervision of a
pharmacist.
The spokesman urged the public not to
consume virility products of unknown or unclear sources, because
the efficacy, safety and quality of such could not be assured, the
spokesman said.
"Members of the public and the trade
who have in their possession similar products are urged to stop
consuming or trading them immediately," he said.
They should destroy and dispose of
the products or submit them to the Department's Pharmaceutical
Service at 3/F, Public Health Laboratory Centre, 382 Nam Cheong
Street, Kowloon during office hours.
"People who have problems of sexual
dysfunction should consult medical professionals for appropriate
advice or medication," the spokesman said.
(Reprinted from HKSAR Government web
page:
http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/200806/04/P200806040256.htm
)
