Parents Sue over Suicidal Psychiatric Side Effects of Acne Medicine.

Sometimes even acne medicine can have unforseen psychiatric side effects. As reported in the Register Guard of Washington state

The parents of a Springfield area teenager who killed himself after taking a powerful acne drug have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against PeaceHealth and the boy's dermatologist. The drug, a synthetic derivative of Vitamin A, is powerfully effective at clearing up severe cases of acne. But it also has been linked to depression and suicide.

The suit, filed by the parents of Dustin Luke Greufe, seeks $1 million in noneconomic damages "for loss of love, society and companionship" and $1 million in economic damages, plus $5,000 for his funeral expenses. The suit alleges PeaceHealth and Dr. Patricia O'Hare, a PeaceHealth Medical Group dermatologist, were negligent for inappropriately prescribing the drug Accutane to Dustin Greufe; failing to warn the Greufes of the drug's risks; and failing to monitor Dustin Greufe for adverse psychiatric side effects, including depression and suicidal thoughts.

Greufe was a 16-year-old junior at Thurston High School when he hanged himself May 14, 2001, in the barn at his parent's home in Mohawk, northeast of Springfield. A month earlier, he'd completed a six-month course of Accutane prescribed by O'Hare.

PeaceHealth is the Bellevue, Wash.-based nonprofit corporate parent of Sacred Heart Medical Center and PeaceHealth Medical Group, a Eugene-based medical practice with about 110 physicians. Spokesman Brian Terrett said he couldn't comment because PeaceHealth hadn't been notified of the suit.