Is my antihistamine safe?

Author(s): Ashworth L

Affiliation(s): Mercer University's Southern School of Pharmacy, Atlanta, GA 30341-4155, USA.

Publication date & source: 1997-06, Home Care Provid., 2(3):117-20.

Publication type: Review

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced its intention to withdraw the approval of terfenadine (Seldane), terfenadine with pseudoephedrine (Seldane D), and generic versions of terfenadine. Before granting approval for the marketing of fexofenadine (Allegra), terfenadine's active metabolite, the FDA determined terfenadine's benefits outweight its risks, despite its, known potential for serious cardiac effects.