Heparin-linked Death Toll Rises
The number of U.S. deaths involving an allergic reaction to the blood thinner heparin has risen to 149.
On Monday, the Food and Drug Administration posted the revised death toll on its web site. In April, the number of deaths in people who had allergic reactions was 81. The latest figures include seven deaths in April and five in May.
There were a total of 246 reports of deaths in the U.S. of people who had received heparin. Of that number, 149 suffered allergic reactions.
Heparin, derived from pig intestines, is typically injected into patients to reduce the risk of blood clots in catheters or during kidney dialysis and cardiac surgery.
Baxter International, one of the largest producers of heparin in the U.S., announced the voluntary recall of nine lots of heparin on Jan. 17, 2008, after reports of allergic-type reactions in patients given the drug. A month later, the FDA released a statement indicating that some patients who received heparin injections suffered symptoms, sometimes fatal, ranging from nausea and diarrhea to shortness of breath, dangerously low blood pressure and allergic or hypersensitivity reaction.
Investigators with the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control subsequently announced that the drug had been contaminated with a chemically altered form of chondroitin sulfate at Chinese manufacturing facilities hired by Baxter.
So far, ten countries have reported the presence of contaminated heparin. They include: Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United States.
If you have a loved one who has been injured or died after receiving heparin, contact Carey & Danis. We can help. Carey & Danis is a national law firm that represents personal injury victims and their families.
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