Though the controversial drug dipyrone can treat acute headaches, it puts the patients into risk of the potentially serious blood disorders or "dyscrasias".

These were the warning of a recently concluded Cochrane Review.

Dipyrone, a non-opioid painkiller launched in Germany in 1922 was later banned from many countries including the USA and UK because of evidence that it might cause life-threatening blood disorders such as agranulocytosis.

However, dipyrone is a popular analgesic in many parts of the world including South America, India, South Africa, Russia and several European countries. Usually delivered intravenously, oral doses of this drug is available OTC in Brazil and Spain.

According to Dr. Rebecca Gray, a Cochrane Editor who worked closely with the project:

"Given that many effective and more easily administered therapies are available, patients and clinicians will need to consider whether and in what circumstances the benefits of treatment are worth the time, trouble and expense of intravenous administration."

Both physicians and patients should then take note of the potential blood disorder risk of dipyrone.

Read the full report (a pdf file).