A drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease has been linked to numerous deaths since 2000, partly because people have taken it daily rather than weekly, as prescribed, according to the authors of research published in the Medical Journal of Australia.
Dr Rose Cairns, of the NSW Poisons Information Centre, and colleagues say that changes can be made to avert such accidental overdoses.
Methotrexate is a synthetic folic acid analogue used for its ability to inhibit the growth and spread of tumours or malignant cells.
