Only four out of 120 doctors got it right.
When older veterans developed leg swelling after starting gabapentin—the United States’ fifth-most-prescribed drug—only about 4 percent of their physicians recognized the medication as the culprit, according to a recent study. The rest prescribed diuretics for what they thought was heart failure or vein problems. Those “water pills” then caused dizziness, dangerous drops in potassium, and depleted sodium levels. Six patients ended up in the emergency room.
