Overprescribing Tamiflu??

Implications: I disagree with the Reuters article. Tamiflu is a safe and effective drug for the young and elderly population.

Analysis: According to the manufacturer literature:
A total of 4,187 subjects (adolescents, healthy adults, and elderly patients) participated in phase 3 prophylaxis studies, in which 1,790 subjects received the recommended dosage of 75 mg once daily for up to 6 weeks. Adverse reactions were qualitatively very similar to those seen in the treatment studies, despite a longer duration of dosing (see the following table). Reactions reported more frequently in subjects receiving oseltamivir than in subjects receiving placebo in prophylaxis studies, and more commonly than in treatment studies, were aches and pains, dyspepsia, rhinorrhea, and upper respiratory tract infections. However, the difference in incidence between oseltamivir and placebo for these reactions was less than 1%. There were no clinically relevant differences in the safety profile of the 942 elderly subjects who received oseltamivir or placebo compared with the younger population