A test used to detect methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Staphylococcus aureus (SA) DNA is being recalled by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after an increasing number of complaints for false negative MRSA results were reported. MRSA, also referred to as multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (ORSA), is a bacterium responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans. False negative MRSA results could lead to incorrect treatment or delay of care for patients with MRSA infection, which could cause serious injury or death.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) wants consumers to put safety in play if fireworks are part of Fourth of July celebrations. A new CPSC study indicates that in 2009 there were two deaths and nearly 9,000 emergency room visits for injuries resulting from fireworks related incidents. Most fireworks injuries occurred to consumers younger than 20 and resulted in the loss of a limb in many cases.
Patients who had an epileptic event requiring emergency care and who had not required care for at least six months, had an 81 percent greater odds of having switched their anti-seizure medication, according to a recent study published in the medical journal Epilepsia. The study is just one of several that give credence to concerns from the medical community that generic antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) may not be equivalent to the brand-name drugs, which could put patients at risk of breakthrough seizures and other adverse events.
Yesterday a Florida jury returned a $5.6 million verdict against Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, saying the company sold a tire for use on recreational vehicles (RVs) even though the company was aware the tire was not suitable for RV use. The tires, Goodyear G159, were manufactured and sold for RVs between 1996-2000. Since that time, Goodyear has faced numerous claims resulting from tire failures and vehicle accidents, many resulting in serious injury and death.
For years, Kelly VanSingel's 30-year-old brother Jay controlled his epileptic seizures with an antiepileptic drug (AED). One day when Jay was filling his AED prescription, he noticed that the pills looked different. He asked his pharmacist about the new pills, who informed Jay that the new pills were a safe, generic version of his regular medication for seizures. Two days later, Jay was dead. An autopsy confirmed that Jay had died as a result of a seizure.
A Pittsburgh woman claims she could have been spared radical brain surgery during which three inches of her brain was removed if her anti-seizure medication hadn't been switched by her insurance company, causing her seizures to return. Melissa Linz says her health insurance provider made the switch to a generic version of her brand name medication to save money. But it was she who paid the ultimate price.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), with the cooperation of seven firms, is announcing voluntary recalls of more than two million cribs to address drop-side hazards and other hazards that affect the safety of young children. The recalling firms are providing consumers with free repair kits to immobilize the drop sides or other remedies. Do not attempt to fix these cribs with homemade remedies.
McNeil Consumer Products has expanded a recall of over-the-counter medicines because the products have an unusual moldy, musty, or mildew-like odor that in some cases was associated with temporary and non-serious gastrointestinal events.
Sun Pharma has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market a generic version of the anti-seizure medication Keppra. The generic Keppra comes in 100 mg/ml packaged in 500 mg/5 ml single use vials and are meant to serve as a generic equivalent to UCB's Keppra Injection 100mg/ml. The generic levetiracetam's annual sales in the U.S. is estimated at $85 million.
Cambell's Soup is recalling 35,000 cases - about 15 million pounds - of its longtime favorite SpaghettiOs in the United States because the meatballs in the canned food product may be undercooked, which if consumed could cause gastrointestinal problems such as nausea and vomiting, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
