Safe and Unsafe Drugs.

It has become increasingly clear that it is often extremely difficult to predict whether a particular drug will be safe in a patient with porphyria or not. Individual subjects vary in their susceptibility to drugs, even to those well-established as precipitants of the acute attack such as the barbiturates.

As a result, some health bodies have moved away from a rigid reliance on drug safety lists to a culture based on "safe behaviour". Avoidance of recreational drugs or combinations of drugs is recommended. Where drugs are necessary, perusal of a safe drug list for the safest alternative is recommended.

The following lists are based on the best information available to us at the time of compilation. Inclusion of a drug does not guarantee that it will be safe in all circumstances.

In Australia, Professor Michael Moore has an accessible and accurate summary of the porphyrias available at www.uq.edu.au/porphyria. The list, however, is now 6 years old.

Cardiff University in the United Kingdom has a list, updated late 2005:
www.cardiff.ac.uk/medicine/medical_biochem/research
/porphyria/drug_page.htm

The University of Cape Town, South Africa, has extensive information for patients and doctors, and is recommended for Varegate Porphyria.
web.uct.ac.za/depts/porphyria/druginfo/drug-frameset-alpha.htm

The Norwegian Porphyria Centre (NAPOS) has been responsible for the development of the porphyria drug database in multiple languages:
www.drugs-porphyria.com
Safety classification of drugs is a done in cooperation between Porphyria Centre Sweden and the Norwegian Porphyria Centre (NAPOS).

The European Porphyria Initiative has a list of Safe and Unsafe drugs:
www.porphyria-europe.org/03-drugs/
warning.asp?strPageRub=drugs-and-porphyrias.asp

The Canadian Porphyria Foundation has a list of Safe and Unsafe drugs:
www.cpf-inc.ca./safe.htm

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