Urgent Digitek Digoxin Recall

There have been recalls of other digoxin brands since this massive Digitek recall in the spring of 2008. As of May 13th, 2009 the most recent has been a recall on Caraco brand digoxin.A class 1 recall is being issued on all Digitek (digoxin) tablets, which may contain twice the approved level of digoxin.

This March 31 press release from Caraco, a generic pharmaceutical company, states that:
"All tablets of Caraco brand Digoxin, USP, 0.125 mg, and Digoxin, USP, 0.25 mg, distributed prior to March 31, 2009, which are not expired and are within the expiration date of September, 2011, are being voluntarily recalled to the consumer level. The tablets are being recalled because they may differ in size and therefore could have more or less of the active ingredient, digoxin."

Almost a year ago, in late April 2008, all digoxin pills manufactured by Actavis Totowa were recalled due to this so-called "double-dose" manufacturing problem. Those Digitek pills were distributed by Mylan Pharmaceuticals under the Bertek and UDL labels. The existence of double-strength pills pose a risk of digitalis toxicity, which can result in nausea, vomiting, low blood pressure, cardiac instability, bradycardia and even death.

15 Cases of Hepatitis at AtlanticCare Regional Medical Center

15 cases of potentially fatal hepatitis C have been reported so far by officials at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, City Campus. Administrators from the AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center’s City Campus contacted the state this month after learning about the five recent cases of hepatitis C during an annual federally mandated hepatitis C testing of dialysis patients. The testing took place late last month and early this month and revealed that the five became positive for hepatitis C since they began undergoing treatment at AtlantiCare. Reports state that the 15 patients contracted the serious, sometimes deadly, liver disease since 2005 at the AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center.



New Jersey health officials indicate that, in 2007, that state saw over 100 acute and 7,000 chronic hepatitis C cases, adding that the Center’s dialysis unit treats between 70 to 80 kidney patients monthly, with patients visiting the center three times weekly for dialysis. Dialysis involves the patient’s blood being pumped into a dialysis machine, where it is filtered and returned to the patient’s body; dialysis machines at the center are inspected once every two years. The hospital maintains it follows “strict guidelines,” that include disinfection and cleaning of the equipment.



The 15 effected patients came out of a group of 245 patients, and the dialysis center has a lower-than-average patient survival rate when compared to the state. The cause of the virus is still unknown as the hospital, the state, and health officials are diligently working to determine the cause and origin of the virus.

Please contact Messa & Associates for more information.

FDA Warns Consumers to Stop Using Hydroxycut

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently announced its recall for the weight loss pill, Hydroxycut. The FDA is warning consumers to immediately stop using Hydroxy cut products, as these products have been associated with a number of serious liver injuries. Lovate, the distributor of Hydroxycut, has agreed to recall Hydroxycut products from the market.

Liver injury, although rare, was reported by patients at the doses of Hydroxycut recommended on the bottle. Symptoms of liver injury include jaundice, nausea, vomiting, light-colored stools, excessive fatigue, weakness, stomach or abdominal pain, itching, and loss of appetite.

One death has been reported, along with 23 cases of serious health problems ranging from jaundice and elevated liver enzymes, an indicator of potential liver injury, to liver damage requiring liver transplant. Other health problems reported include seizures; cardiovascular disorders; and rhabdomyolysis, a type of muscle damage that can lead to other serious health problems such as kidney failure.

Hydroxycut products are dietary supplements that are marketed for weight-loss, as fat burners, as energy-enhancers, as low carb diet aids, and for water loss under the Iovate and MuscleTech brand names. The list of Hydroxycut products being recalled by Iovate currently includes:

• regular rapid release caplets
• caffeine-free rapid release caplets
• hardcore liquid caplets
• max liquid caplets
• regular drink packets
• hardcore drink packets
• max drink packets
• liquid shots
• hardcore RTDs (Ready-to-Drink)
• max aqua shed
• 24
• carb control
• natural

For more information, or if you are suffering from injuries due to this product, please contact our office immediately at 1-866-403-4LAW.