A recent study found that the use of IVC filers in trauma patients in hospitals did not save lives. There was no mortality difference between those that received a filter and those that did not. These results led the researchers to conclude that the use of IVC filters needs to be reevaluated. They are not […]
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently warned consumers and the general public that homeopathic teething tablets and gels may be dangerous and could pose significant risks to babies and children. The FDA has gone so far as to recommend that these products not be used and that they be discarded if already purchased. […]
Pharmaceutical and medical device giant Johnson & Johnson was hit with a huge, nearly $500 million verdict earlier this year over its defective Pinnacle hip implant made by subsidiary DePuy Orthopaedics. Plaintiffs in the first bellwether trial claimed that the company failed to warn them about the risks of these metal-on-metal hips and the jury […]
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently announced that there is a need for increased and more urgent warnings about the dangers of mixing prescriptions containing opioid analgesics with those containing benzodiazepines. The FDA stated in a press release that the number of overdose deaths related to misuse of the two types of drugs is […]
Testosterone replacement drugs, such as AndroGel made by AbbVie, have been under scrutiny in recent years after complaints that they increase the risk of heart attack and blood clots surfaced. Victims have started lawsuits against the manufacturer and many of those have been consolidated in multidistrict litigation. The first eight lawsuits, which will act as […]
Congresswoman Louise Slaughter, a democrat from New York, and Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick, a republican from Pennsylvania worked together to introduce a bill that would allow women harmed by the Essure device to sue maker Bayer. Essure is a permanent sterilization device that has caused harm to many women and has even been linked to deaths. […]
Bayer makes a medication called Kogenate that is used in people who suffer with the bleeding disorders known as hemophilia. Doctors prescribe the medication to prevent excessive bleeding, but recently it suffered a recall. Bayer announced the recall in July. Bayer issued follow up in August to extend it to include more lots. At issue was the potency […]
Portola Pharmaceuticals recently announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration rejected its application for approval or a new antidote for Xarelto and similar blood thinners. Patients taking these blood thinners are at risk of excessive bleeding, which can be fatal, and there is currently no approved antidote to reverse the bleeding. Xarelto and Bleeding […]
As kids go back to school for the fall of 2016 those with life-threatening allergies face a big price hike on the medication that can save their lives. EpiPens, the injectable device that delivers adrenaline to someone experiencing anaphylactic shock from an allergen, are necessary for many children suffering from serious allergies, mostly food allergies. […]
PharmaTech, a Florida-based pharmaceutical company, announced in July that it would be voluntarily recalling several lots of their docusate sodium solutions, known as Diocto Liquid. The recall came after the company discovered that the lots had been contaminated with Burkholderia cepacia. The bacteria have caused infections in people in outbreaks in five states. In August […]