The National Directorate for Medicines has suspended the marketing and consumption in the country of medicines containing ranitidine.
El Salvador joined the list of countries that have suspended oral use of drugs containing ranitidine after warnings from international experts that they could cause cancer.
Ranitidine has been used to treat heartburn conditions: heartburn, gastritis, peptic ulcer, esophageal reflux, among others.
In addition, consumption of this drug can cause side effects, according to the National Library of Medicine of the USA, international media explain, among which they describe:
constipation
diarrhea
– Stomach ache
vomit
– Stomach ache
The National Directorate of Medicines (DNM) indicated that the decision to withdraw this drug from the Salvadoran market is the result of health warnings issued in this regard by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA, for the acronym in English) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
The two organisms have indicated that the presence of an impurity identified as N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), a substance that can cause cancer, has been detected in ranitidine-based drugs, according to international media publications.
READ ALSO: Medicines containing ranitidine are banned in El Salvador
The Executive Director of the DNM, Francisco Cortez Morales, explained via a memorandum dated February 2, 2021 that both the FDA and the EMA have determined that under normal storage conditions, and even more so at high temperatures that are higher than those set by the manufacturer levels of NDMA in ranitidine increase, increasing the risk of cancer in people exposed to higher than acceptable levels of NDMA over a long period of time.
The DNM not only reported that it removed those drugs from the List of Over-the-Counter Medicines in El Salvador, but will also monitor their sales; It will also notify health professionals of the new provision so that they can offer their patients other therapeutic alternatives.
“It is not omitted to state that this measure does not affect the supply of medicines, as there are other medicines on the market with other active ingredients that have the same therapeutic indications, such as omeprazole, pantoprazole or lansoprasol; and H2 receptor antagonists, such as famotidine, ”noted the DNM.
You may be interested: El Salvador begins vaccination against COVID-19 for frontline workers