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Hazards posed by a banned drug—phenformin is
still hanging around
CK Ching,
CK Lai,
WT Poon,
Ernest NP Wong,
WW Yan,
Albert YW Chan,
Tony WL Mak
Hospital Authority Toxicology Reference
Laboratory, Princess Margaret Hospital,
Laichikok, Hong Kong
The Hospital Authority Toxicology Reference Laboratory confirmed six cases of phenformin
use, with or without complications, from July 2005 to November 2006. Two of the patients
presented with potentially fatal phenformin-induced lactic acidosis. Phenformin was found
(or suspected to be) adulterating Chinese proprietary medicine in five of the six cases. We
report these six cases to highlight the underrecognised hazards posed by phenformin, a
banned drug in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong Med J 2008;14:50-4
Key words: Acidosis, lactic; Drug and narcotic
control; Drugs, Chinese herbal;
Phenformin
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