Digital edition of the pharma-kritik publication "100 wichtige Medikamente". The texts of the online chapters are identical to the texts of the printed edition.

Editor: Etzel Gysling
Texts written by: Etzel Gysling, Urspeter Masche, Alexandra RöllinAdditions and corrections by: Renato L. Galeazzi, Peter Koller, Natalie Marty, Peter Ritzmann.
Design of the digital edition and the app: Philipp Gysling.

Important notice:

All information contained in these texts has been verified with the utmost care. Nevertheless, it is possible that erroneous information may be given inadvertently or that, for example, dosages may have to be modified as a result of new findings. In case of doubt, the latest available official information should therefore always be consulted. Under no circumstances can the authors accept responsibility for incorrect prescribing.

About this publication

The 100 drugs selected for this publication represent a carefully evaluated selection. This selection focuses on common problems encountered in everyday practice. For the selected substances, all important basic information is provided so that they can be used in daily practice. Approximately 90% of all problems encountered in primary care practice can be adequately treated with the 100 drugs, to the extent that these problems are amenable to pharmacotherapy at all.

No claim is made to present the best selection. Some of the drugs can be substituted by other, almost equivalent substances. This is taken into account by the "Alternatives" section, which shows ways in which the selection can be modified on an individual basis.

The Name of the drug is usually the "Recommended" or "Proposed International Nonproprietary Name" (INN) according to the guidelines of the World Health Organization.

The WHO label means that this drug is part of the 20th Model List "Essential Medicines" of the World Health Organization (March/August 2017). The [WHO] label means that this is a drug that is not included in the main WHO list but is eligible as an alternative according to WHO.

The FDA label means that this drug is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This does not mean that the drug is approved for all uses listed in the Indications section.
The year corresponds to the year in which the drug was introduced. This information is imprecise because the introduction took place in different countries at different times and often cannot be determined exactly.

The "Mode of Action" section provides brief information on the pharmacology (and in some cases the chemistry) of the drug. Details of the drug's mechanisms of action are also provided here, where available.

In the "Pharmacokinetics" section, the most important elements for understanding the pharmacokinetics of the drug are compiled. The information has been selected according to its relevance to the practical use of the drug. Unless there is a specific reference, it is always the kinetics for oral administration of the drug. Indications are given as to which cytochromes are used to metabolize the drug, as far as this can be stated with some certainty. Sporadically, other elements are mentioned that are also important for the biotransformation of the drug. The cytochromes are named with the internationally used abbreviation (e.g. CYP2E1).

In the "Indications" section, comparative information and study data on the indications of a drug are provided whenever possible. Indications of drugs with many and complex uses are presented comparatively summarily, while substances with fewer indications may be offered somewhat more detail.

The dosage data is to be understood as examples of practically important indications. They are always adult dosages; pediatric dosage recommendations can be found in the "Children" section. In all cases where this seems possible, relatively low doses are recommended (sometimes deviating downwards from the official product information).

Under the heading "Availability", the galenic forms of the drug under discussion that will be available in Switzerland at the beginning of 2020 are usually listed. In addition, there is an indication of whether the drug is (also) available without a medical prescription (over the counter) or possibly only with a narcotic prescription.

The "Commentary" expresses the personal opinion of the author. This is based, on the one hand, on experience in practice and clinic and, on the other hand, to a large extent on a critical study of the current literature. The opinions stated herein stem essentially from our critical position toward the pharmaceutical industry.