The FDA is informing healthcare providers, patients, parents, and guardians that bone graft substitutes containing recombinant proteins or synthetic peptides should not be the first treatment considered for patients under age 18 with significant bone defects or rare bone disorders. The FDA has not approved these products for use in patients under age 18 because their bones may still be growing and using this product may cause serious injuries. The agency recommends that health providers consider other treatment options first. Click title to continue reading...

The U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Missouri on January 23, 2015 sentenced an owner of the Turkish firm Ozay Pharmaceuticals to 30 months imprisonment and a $150,000 fine for smuggling counterfeit, misbranded, and adulterated cancer treatment drugs into the U.S., including multiple shipments of Altuzan, the Turkish version of Avastin. Another business partner in the drug wholesaling scheme was sentenced in October 2014. Click title to continue reading...

Hospira, Inc., is conducting a nationwide recall of one lot of  0.9% Sodium Chloride Injection, USP, 250 mL (NDC 0409-7983-02, Lot 44-002-JT, Expiry 1AUG2016) to the user level due to one confirmed customer report of particulate in a single unit. Hospira identified the particulate as a human hair, sealed in the bag at the additive port area. Click title to continue reading...

More than a third of reproductive-aged women enrolled in Medicaid, and more than a quarter of those with private insurance, filled a prescription for an opioid pain medication each year during 2008 to 2012, according to a new CDC report. Opioids are typically prescribed by health care providers to treat moderate to severe pain.  They are also found in some prescription cough medications. The most commonly prescribed opioids among both groups of women were hydrocodone, codeine, and oxycodone. Click title to continue reading...

A woman underwent two surgeries to repair her shoulder. After each surgery, she was prescribed continuous infusion of a painkiller, delivered through a continuous infusion pump device, known as a pain pump. The pain pump contained a portable medication reservoir attached to a catheter that delivered the medication to the site. After the woman’s surgeries the pain pump delivered medication to her shoulder joint. Click title to continue reading...

A woman was admitted to the hospital complaining of abdominal pain. She was 35 weeks pregnant. She was diagnosed with high blood pressure and preeclampsia. After attempting to initiate preterm labor and discovering a prolapsed umbilical cord, an obstetrician performed an emergency cesarean section. As a result of the cesarean section, the woman suffered blood loss and her blood pressure dropped. Click title to continue reading...

A man presented at a hospital’s emergency room complaining of chest pain. Two emergency room physicians evaluated the man and diagnosed him as suffering from reflux. The man was discharged. The man had actually suffered a heart attack, which was determined a few days later when he sought further medical care elsewhere. Click title to continue reading...