Drugs and the otolaryngologist.

Numerous clinical problems arise as a result of our use of pharmaceuticals. They include untoward pharmacologic effects, socio-economic problems (excessive cost, abuse), improper administration and various medicolegal difficulties. Two areas of direct concern to the otolaryngologist are drug interactions and drug-induced diseases, problems which precipitate and prolong hospitalization and which introduce a new clinical entity, "diseases of medical progress." Otolaryngologic examples of these diseases are abundant; some are considered here in a brief explication of an area of growing concern.