The U.S. Food & Drug Administration and Medtronic Neuromodulation, the Minnesota-based medical device giant, issued a Class I recall of the company’s SynchroMed II Implantable and SynchroMed EL Implantable Infusion pumps due to motor stalling and drug dispensing issues which could result in serious adverse health risks or death. Medtronic Drug Infusion Pump Recall & […]
Year: 2012
Johnson & Johnson’s Topamax, an epilepsy and migraine medication made by J&J subsidiary Ortho McNeil Pharmaceuticals, has been linked to a significantly increased risk of birth defects. According to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), women who take Topamax – or its generic form topiragen – during pregnancy are 20 times more likely to […]
Bayer’s Mirena, an IUD (intrauterine device) which can be implanted for up to five years as a form of birth control and a way to control menstrual bleeding, has been linked to a number of serious side effects. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) warned Bayer about downplaying the risks of using Mirena – […]
Millions of Americans undergo kidney dialysis, or hemodialysis, every day. While the procedure may be time consuming; it is generally thought to be safe. Until now. GranuFlo and NaturaLyte, two dialysate chemical solutions used in thousands of kidney dialysis centers, have been linked to metabolic alkalosis – a condition associated with low blood pressure, cardiac […]
Pradaxa, the anticoagulant drug manufactured by Boehringer Ingelheim and approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) only two years ago, was supposed to be better than Coumadin to control blood clots that could lead to strokes in Americans with an irregular heartbeat known as atrial fibrillation. However, unlike Coumadin, Pradaxa has no known […]
A team of medical researchers led by Kaiser Permanente Northern California report that women taking birth control pills containing drospirenone are at a sharply increased risk of blood clots and blockage of arteries. The study appears in the January 2013 issue of the journal Contraception. Newer oral contraceptives, including Yaz, Yasmin and the generic Ocella […]
A new Scottish study finds that diabetes patients taking the group of diabetes drugs that includes Actos are at increased risk of suffering hip fractures. The University of Dundee researchers said bone fractures are “a severe adverse effect” for users of the class of diabetes drugs containing the active ingredients pioglitazone or rosiglitazone. The study […]
This month, the manufacturer of medical ventilators for critically ill babies has issued a nationwide recall of thousands of Life Pulse High-Frequency Ventilator Patient Circuits. The high-frequency ventilator is used to treat infants in intensive-care units. The patient circuits, which are made of disposable tubing, provide a conduit for humidification, warming and temperature monitoring of […]
A widow in Ohio filed a wrongful death lawsuit in November alleging that her husband’s fatal heart attack during kidney dialysis treatment was caused by Fresenius Medical Care’s failure to provide adequate warnings about the side effects of Granuflo, a dialysis product. As a product liability attorney who is investigating claims of serious and fatal […]
Federal drug regulators recently approved the first generic version of the Type 2 diabetes drug Actos. But Consumer Reports recommends that people with Type 2 diabetes avoid, if at all possible, the brand name drug Actos as well as the new generic version introduced by Mylan Pharmaceuticals. Consumer Reports’ review of the diabetes drug notes […]