Honig P K, Gillespie B K
Department of Medicine, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA.
Drug Saf. 1995 Nov;13(5):296-303. doi: 10.2165/00002018-199513050-00003.
The use and availability of over-the-counter (OTC) medication is increasing. Although regulatory agencies take care to assure than nonprescription medications are safe and effective, these drugs still have the potential to have clinically significant interactions with prescription medicines. The major classes of OTC medication to be considered in this light include antacids, histamine H2 receptor antagonists, NSAIDs, cough and cold preparations and the antiasthma products. Healthcare providers and patients/consumers should be educated regarding possible drug interactions, patient drug regimens should be simplified where possible, and all therapeutic failures and adverse reactions should be investigated with regard to the potential contribution of OTC drug products. Regulatory agencies and pharmaceutical manufacturers should ensure that nonprescription drug labelling is complete and intelligible to meet these objectives. Consideration should be given to improving the postmarketing surveillance of OTC medications.
非处方药（OTC）的使用和可得性正在增加。尽管监管机构会谨慎确保非处方药安全有效，但这些药物仍有可能与处方药发生具有临床意义的相互作用。从这方面考虑的主要OTC药物类别包括抗酸剂、组胺H2受体拮抗剂、非甾体抗炎药、止咳和感冒药以及抗哮喘产品。应就可能的药物相互作用对医疗保健提供者和患者/消费者进行教育，应尽可能简化患者的用药方案，对于所有治疗失败和不良反应，都应调查OTC药品可能产生的影响。监管机构和制药制造商应确保非处方药标签完整且易懂，以实现这些目标。应考虑加强对OTC药物的上市后监测。
