Combining two drugs commonly prescribed to treat depression and lower cholesterol can raise blood sugar to potentially harmful levels, according to a study released this week that was based partly on a search of computerized patient records at Boston-area hospitals.The side effect — which the authors said could push glucose-intolerant people into a diabetic state or make existing cases of diabetes harder to manage — was unexpected, and its discovery illustrates the power of electronic health records to help bring to light previously unknown problems with medical treatments.
