A What rush?

<<Rant Alert>>

Thanks TGA

It would seem the TGA would now like Australian doctors speak more like our cousins across the Pacific Ocean in America, that is. There is a updated list of the politically correct names we should all now be using for a select group of drugs. https://www.tga.gov.au/updating-medicine-ingredient-names-list-affected-ingredients. I know these are really the International Nonproprietary Names but it seems that most of the names are being changes to what Americans call their drugs rather than what generations of Australian doctors have called them.

 

Adrenaline shall now be called epinephrine. the sight of a white pointer rushing at you on a small yellow kayak, the feeling as you catch a 100 foot wave or jump from a perfectly good plane  or a solid mountain top, or as you touch 300kph in top gear will now forevermore be an EPINEPHRINE RUSH. Doesn’t really sound the same does it?

Noradrenaline, the alpha receptor specialist, likewise shall be known as norepinephine. Must venlafaxine now be called a serotonin, “norepinephrenergic” reuptake inhibitor? Maybe the Americans were getting confused with North American Aerospace Defense Command when someone called for a box of Norad?

Amethocaine my old friend, a sight for a sore eye, now is tetracaine but it may be better if you have four eyes.

Apparently amphoterin gains a “B”. Not sure what happened to amphotericin A. Maybe the “B” is for better.

All the phenobarbitones are now phenobarbitals but that just doesn’t sound right, too aggressive, these drugs are supposed to be more sedate. Amylobarbital, barbital, secbarbital, nembutal (well that one seems to have snuck in for a while), thiopental…

There are few changes that just seem stupid. Where am I to put methylrosanilinium chloride? Oh, if you told me it was crystal violet then maybe I’d  have a better idea.

I will not be moving the “u” and writing an “o” in frusemide. Just to make that clear. It’s like calling my best mate “Buroce”, sorry Bruce I’m not making fun of you it just won’t happen.

Maybe I can drop the “e” from eformetrol, it might make it sound less rude.

Lignocaine remains lignocaine in my mind and you can put that lidocaine and epinephrine right back and give me what I asked for sister!

There are bunch of other changes which just confuse me like dosulepin instead of dothiepin.

There is a list of minor changes too. Such as we are now supposed to drop the “y” in amoxycillin an change it to a “i”. Also pericyazine become periciazine. Surely there are enough vowels in there already, give the consonants a go please. And of course, son’t forget about the “ph” in cephalexin, cephamandole, cephazolin, cephalothin…..  I see even Wikipedia still call this group cephalosporins. Okay a couple with the “f” have already settled into our local formulary …. ceftriaxone, ceftazidime, and cefotetan….

Its not just antibiotics that loose the ph its also Phytic acid becomes fytic acid. I guess it goes the way of telephone, physiotherapy, phallus, physics and farmaceuticals. Dammed its happened already. Mooo

We loose the “o” in oestrogen and all its cousins like oestradiol and oestriol. It is a word rooted in the latin word oestrus.  Bit like orthopaedic, paediatric and gynaecology…..

Tioguanine, etacrynic acid, beclometasone  and indometacin all seem to be missing a “h” Do the INN committee members have something about touching the tongue to their toot?

Its wong I tell you all wong. See you need that extra consonant otherwise you’ll be making fun of all sorts of people.

Give me Paraffin – soft white any day over soft white paraffin.

Enough….read the list. As I read through the list I wonder how many TGA committee meetings in Canberra it took to devise this list. Or was someone bored one Friday afternoon. No new drugs to approve, hey let’s change some names?

Yep Thanks TGA for surrendering to all things America, sorry INN.

At least we bought a French submarine…. Hopefully they will be launched with a nice bottle of Australian Champagne oops sparkling white, preferably from the Clare or Barossa valley.

Oh by the way, we are still apparently permitted to call paracetamol, well paracetamol. So shove that non-INN acetaminophen suppository up your bum America.

<<Rant Over>>