Skip to main content

Police investigate Pakistan heart drug deaths

At least 36 people with cardiovascular problems have died in a Lahore hospital over the past three weeks because of faulty drugs, Pakistani officials say.
Police have arrested the owners of two local pharmaceutical firms that supplied the drugs to the government-owned Punjab Institute of Cardiology.
Neither of the two firms have commented on the allegations.
Doctors believe one or more of at least four drugs given to patients at the institute directly led to their deaths.
The drugs were purchased at competitive rates and were allegedly offered to patients free of cost.
"More than 100 patients brought to various hospitals in Lahore for suspected drug reactions have all been recently under treatment at Punjab Institute of Cardiology, and were given these drugs," Punjab provincial Health Secretary Jehanzeb Khan said on Monday.
Dr Javed Ikram of the Allama Iqbal Medical College - one of the biggest medical colleges in the country - told the BBC that the drug reaction was initially marked by rapid depletion of bone marrow, white cells and platelets - causing bleeding and death.
The BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says the Pakistani pharmaceuticals market is intensely competitive, with local companies competing with multinationals for hospital contracts.
This is thought to be the first time that drugs provided by Pakistani companies are alleged to have been below standard, our correspondent says adds.
Officials say they have sealed off one pharmaceutical firm and are sending the four drugs for testing abroad to determine which one of them caused the reaction, and why.
In a statement the Pakistan Medical Association urged the government to buy life-saving drugs from other suppliers.
Hospital sources told BBC if they do not buy drugs from the lowest bidder, they can be taken to court by local pharmaceutical companies and even be issued with an injunction against all future purchases.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Contact Precautions May Have Unintended Consequences

Contact precautions, including gloves, gowns, and isolated rooms, have helped stem the transmission of hospital pathogens but have also had some negative consequences, according to findings from a new study. Healthcare worker (HCWs) visited patients on contact precautions less frequently than other patients and spent less time with those patients when they did visit, report Daniel J. Morgan, MD, from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the Veterans Affairs (VA) Maryland Health Care System, Baltimore, and colleagues. Moreover, patients on contact precautions also received fewer outside visitors. "Less contact with HCWs suggests that other unintended consequences of contact precautions still exist," Dr. Morgan and coauthors write. "The resulting decrease in HCW contact may lead to increased adverse events and a lower quality of patient care due to less consistent patient monitoring and poorer adherence to standard adverse event prevention methods (such
Post a Comment
Read more

CareFusion Issues Update on Infant Breathing Product Recall

July 5, 2012 — Medical device maker CareFusion has issued an update reminding healthcare providers of its voluntary recall of its Air Life ™ Infant Breathing Circuit, initiated back in May. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has classified this action as a class 1 recall, meaning there is a reasonable probability of serious adverse health consequences or death associated with use of the defective units. The update was posted July 2 on the FDA  Website. On May 29, 2012, CareFusion sent an  Urgent Recall Notice  to customers and distributors stating that the company had identified potential risks associated with the Air Life  Infant Breathing Circuit. The action was initiated after the company received complaints of the Y adapter within the breathing circuit developing cracks during patient use. "If a crack develops in the Y adapter, this could potentially result in a leak in the closed ventilation system, leading to a loss in the intended tidal volume delivered to
Post a Comment
Read more

FDA Approves Tapentadol ER for Diabetic Neuropathy

August 29, 2012 — The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved tapentadol extended-release (ER) ( Nucynta , Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc) for the management of neuropathic pain associated with diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) in adults for whom a continuous opioid analgesic is required over an extended time. It is the first opioid to receive this indication, the company notes in a statement today. DPN, the most common type of neuropathy, affects an estimated 16% of the more than 25 million Americans who have diabetes. The condition is often unreported and untreated, with an estimated 2 out of 5 cases not receiving care. Tapentadol ER is already approved for the treatment of moderate to severe chronic pain in adults requiring a continuous opioid analgesic for an extended period. It is a centrally acting synthetic analgesic, although the exact mechanism of action is unknown, the release states. "Although the clinical relevance is unclear," the company n
4 comments
Read more