Heparin’s Safety is Flagged by the FDA
The Food and Drug Administration recently identified the blood-thinning drug heparin as one of 20 medications with potential safety issues.
According to a statement released last Friday, the FDA noted that in the first three months of 2008, heparin was associated with anaphylactic-type reactions. Anaphylaxis is a severe, whole-body allergic reaction that can be fatal. Symptoms range from nausea and diarrhea to shortness of breath and dangerously low blood pressure. By June, 149 deaths in the U.S. had been linked to heparin.
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.
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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