Droperidol "Black Box" Warning Revisited

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Anesthetic and Life Support Drugs Advisory Committee will be meeting in Gaithersburg, Maryland, on November 18, 2003, to discuss the issue of reported cardiac risks associated with droperidol.

An ASA representative will be attending this meeting to express the view that FDA's Black Box warning is unwarranted for the doses of droperidol commonly used by anesthesiologists. We also plan to make the point that the drug has been used for decades by anesthesiologists without complications, and that the warning has effectively removed one of the most efficacious drugs for treatment of PONV for our patients.

ASA will utilize its Web site to keep its members posted on this issue. The FDA meeting is open to the public. For more information about the meeting, visit the FDA Web site at: http://www.fda.gov/oc/advisory/accalendar/cder12529dd11181903.html