Doctors rule out possibility of a shortage of medicines in Dagestan

In case if the supplies of foreign medicines for the treatment of diabetes mellitus, oncological and urological diseases are suspended, the medicines can be replaced with domestic analogues, specialists interviewed by the “Caucasian Knot” assure.

Amid the sanctions and the withdrawal of many foreign companies from the Russian market, no international pharmaceutical companies have officially announced the suspension of supplies, but queues of patients have already lined up in Moscow pharmacies, and pharmacy websites report that some drugs are out of stock, the newspaper “Novaya Gazeta” reported.

Diabetes mellitus and goiter are among the most common endocrine diseases in Dagestan, an endocrinologist of a medical institution in Makhachkala told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent. According to him, in the case of diabetes, if necessary, it is possible to replace foreign medicines with Russian counterparts.

Almost all drugs intended for the treatment of goiter are foreign-made, the specialist says. But the disease is “sluggish,” and therefore, interruptions in the use of medicines in 1-3 months or a decrease in the number of doses are not critical for a person diagnosed with goiter, the specialist explains.

A urologist from Dagestan, who works both in Dagestan and in one of the Moscow state-run clinics, has told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent that almost all the equipment and almost all consumables used in urological surgeries are foreign-made. “But [the products of US and European companies] can be replaced with Indian, Chinese, and Turkish [products],” the doctor explained.

In the treatment of oncology, domestic drugs are used, and they are not inferior in effectiveness to foreign ones, although the tolerability of those drugs in patients with oncology is worse, an oncologist at one of the state-run medical institutions of Dagestan told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent. The specialist ruled out any panic among cancer patients.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 18, 2022 at 11:40 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.