Heparin-related Deaths Explained
An international team of researchers led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has explained why tainted heparin is so deadly.
Heparin is a blood thinner produced from pig intestines that is often used during kidney dialysis or heart surgery. Recently, 81 patients died after receiving heparin in which chondroitin sulfate was substituted for the active ingredient derived from pig intestines
According to the researchers, chondroitin sulfate triggers a dangerous allergy-like reaction. An MIT TechTalk newsletter explains:
"The researchers found that the contaminant activates two inflammatory pathways: one that initiates blood clotting and dilation of the blood vessels, one that produces anaphylactic toxins. The first leads to a dangerous decrease in blood pressure, the second to a serious allergic reaction. In blinded laboratory tests, the contaminated heparin activated the biological pathways, while normal heparin did not.”
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. The FDA noted that 350 adverse events had been reported since the end of 2007, three times the number that had been reported previously.
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.
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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