Will Doctors Pay Attention?
Hopefully, at least a few will. For over 2 years, I have heard consistent comments from my peers finding fault with my view that nesiritide (Natrecor tm) could be dangerous. Now there is a publication in the pre-eminent cardiology journal, Circulation, based on our work. (you can read the report in the NY Times, Detroit News or at Forbes.com) Of course, it really is not something for which I deserve the bulk of the credit. So I want to thank those who allowed this observation to be made.
First, thanks to Scios/J&J. They did the studies that identified the risk of worsening kidney function, the harbinger of marked increased risk. Without them, I could not even have asked the question of whether the brief improvement in symptoms that nesiritide produces are worth the possibility that risk of death may be increased so markedly in the subsequent weeks and months. This is not "tongue-in-cheek" stuff. They did the initial studies very carefully. It's just that for some reason they did not do the appropriate follow-up studies.
Second, the investigators and patients, without whom the studies could not have been done.
Third, the FDA, for making so much information available for anyone with any curiosity to find. We all find things to do to fill our time, that's easy. But spending an extra hour or two looking up the information about a medicine on the FDA website does not seem to be all than much for a patient to expect a doctor to do. (Why not offer your doctor to pay cash and collect the insurance payment yourself for the next three visits in return for your doctor looking up all the relevant information about the medicines you are taking?)
Finally, there are several of my peers who have been supportive of my efforts. The guidance and encouragement have been invaluable. You know who you are.
Now, we need to get the definitive studies started. If we do that now, perhaps we'll know how, when and in whom to use nesiritide by 2007 or 2008.
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