Meningitis Drug Warnings Expand To Other Medications, Facilities

October 17, 2012

State health officials on Tuesday said they have expanded the search for tainted medication distributed by New England Compounding Center following federal warnings that patients receiving other medications produced and distributed by the company may be at risk.

Florida’s Surgeon General John Armstrong said the state was boosting precautions after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded the list of potentially contaminated medications to include 12 other drugs. The additional warnings follow an outbreak of fungal meningitis that has claimed the lives of two Florida patients and is linked to contaminated lots of methylprednisolone acetate distributed by the Massachusetts-based company.

“As the ongoing federal investigation has expanded to all NECC injectable products, we strongly urge all Florida health care professionals and health care facilities that used NECC products to alert patients to the possibility of infection,” said John Armstrong. “Any patient who received an NECC medication after May 21, 2012, and who has symptoms of infection, should seek medical attention immediately. At this time, the risk to public health is uncertain; we remain vigilant to ensure that the public is aware of this concern.”

In all, 12 patients have been linked to the tainted spinal injections — including two in Escambia County [Read more...]

Added to the list on Monday were other injected medications used for optical procedures and open heart surgery. The drugs, which were shipped to 78 facilities across the state, were added after the FDA raised concerns that other NECC drugs could have become contaminated.

Like the earlier batches of spinal steroids, the additional drugs have been collected and are no longer in circulation. Facilities are expected to contact patients who received the medications.

A list of the recalled medications are available on the FDA website.

Comments

2 Responses to “Meningitis Drug Warnings Expand To Other Medications, Facilities”

  1. Henry on October 17th, 2012 10:10 am

    Really, the free market should decide, without government oversight and regulation.
    Eventually the insurance companies would save enough money off of patients dying that it would be a boom to the middle class. If people are scared of private sector health care, which they should be, they won’t use it and that will save insurance companies even more money. Eventually the Insurance Companies and their share holders will make enough money off the results of these contaminated medicines that the market will correct itself.

  2. Jane on October 17th, 2012 5:36 am

    Do some research…this company has a dump in it’s backyard and should have been investigated long ago!

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News