The Delhi Society for Promotion of Rational Use of Drugs (DSPRUD) and the India-WHO Programme in Essential Drugs have joined hands to formulate a list of emergency/life-saving drugs which is derived from the existing Essential Drug List (EDL). The Emergency Drugs/Life Saving Drugs are defined as "Drugs, which require immediate administration within minutes post or during a medical emergency and the medicines, which have the potential to sustain life and/or prevent further complications."
The society has drawn a draft of 55 drugs and has invited comments on the same. The final list is to be submitted before the government for special considerations like exemption of import duties.
The proposed list of "commonly used emergency medicines/life saving drugs" are Adenosine Injection, Adrenaline Bitartrate Injection, Aminophylline Injection, Amiodarone Injection, Antisnake venon inj polyvalent Injection, Antitetnus Human Immunoglobulin Injection, Atropine sulphate 0.6mg/ml Injection, Calcium chloride Injection, Chloroquine phosphate 64.5 mg/ml (5ml amp) Injection, Dextran-70 Injection, Diazepam 5mg/ml Injection, Dicyclomine hydrochloride 10mg/ml Injection, Diphenhydramine Injection, Diltizem Injection, Diptheria Antitoxin Injection, Dobutamine 50mg/ml (5 ml amp) Injection, Dopamine hydrochloride 40mg/ml (5ml amp) Injection, Epinephrine hydrochloride 1mg/ml Injection, Flumazenil Injection, Fresh Frozen Plasma Injection, Frusemide 10mg/ml Injection, Glucose with sodium chloride Injection, Glyceryl trinitrate 5mg/ml Injection, D50% Injection, Haloperidol Injection, Heparin sodium 5000IU/ml Injection, Hydrocortisone sodium succinate 100mg/ml Injection, Insulin soluble (bovine + porcine or porcine) 40IU/ml Injection, Lignocaine IV 2% Injection, Lidocaine 2% Injection, Magnesium sulphate Injection, Mannitol 10%, 20% Injection, Metoclopramide 5mg/ml, Metoprolol 1mg/ml Injection, Morphine sulphate Injection, N/2 saline Injection, N/5 saline Injection, Naloxone 0.4mg/ml Injection, Neostigmine 0.5, 2.5mg/ml Injection, Oxygen Inhalation, Oxytocin Injection, Pancuronium 2mg/ml Injection, Phenobarbitone 200mg/ml Injection, Phenytoin 50mg/ml Injection, Potassium Chloride Injection, Pralidoxime chloride (2-PAM) 25mg/ml Injection, Protamine sulphate Injection, Rabies vaccine Injection, Ringer lactate Injection, Salbutamol sulphate Inhalation, Sodium bicarbonate Injection, Succinyl choline 50mg/ml Injection, Streptokinase Injection, Tetanus Toxoid Injection and Vitamin K 10mg/ml Injection.
The society had earlier published four Lists of Essential Drugs in the years 1994, 1996, 1998 and 2002. This list delineates drugs, which could be prescribed for both Outpatients and Inpatients. Delhi society is probably the first organization to bring out this difference. The society has also brought out drugs with asterisks, which they label as complementary drugs similar to the essential drugs. These are to be used with care and circumspection.