The Good, The Bad and Drug Shortages.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that when you don’t have enough of a good thing, bad things can happen. This is the case with the on-going drug shortages and the resulting potential issues that affect the care we provide and patient safety concerns. The ISMP (Institute for Safe Medication Practices) recently released…

Epogen and Procrit: Voluntary Recall

Certain lots of Epogen and Procrit (Epoetin alfa) vials are being recalled as a precaution, because the vials may contain extremely thin glass flakes (lamellae) that are barely visible. The potential serious adverse events resulting from the use of a sterile injectable product with particulates by the intravenous route include embolic, thrombotic and other vascular…

FDA Class I Recall: Symbiq Infusion Pumps

There is an FDA Class I recall of Symbig Infusion Pumps One channel, model 16026 and Dual channels, model 16027 made by Hospira due to the potential for unrestricted flow of fluid or medication if the administration set (cassette) is removed before the cassette carriage fully opens and the slide/roller clamp is not closed. Additionally,…

Vesicants: not just chemo agents!

There is no doubt that several chemotherapeutic agents have vesicant properties, and when inadvertently infused into the surrounding tissue from an infiltrated IV, these agents may have the potential to cause blisters, severe tissue injury or necrosis, known as extravasation. The damage to the tissue can occur from direct contact with the vesicant medication, from…