The FDA is warning that the antibiotic azithromycin (Zithromax), can cause a potentially fatal irregular heart rhythm in some patients. The New England Journal of Medicine reported last May on the risk of cardiovascular death from different antibacterial drugs. Azithromycin, which is made by Pfizer Inc and is also sold by generic drugmakers, had a higher […]
The FDA has issued a safety announcement regarding drugs containing Zolpidem (Ambien, Ambien CR, Edular and Zolpimist) that are used in the treatment of insomnia. These drugs can impair driving and other activities that require alertness the morning after a drug has been taken. Women may be particularly sensitive to Zolpidem. For the complete communication […]
Recently, a Massachusetts pharmaceutical compounding company was linked to a steroid product that was tainted with meningitis, resulting in the deaths of over 20 patients. For the second time in a few years, an Ocala pharmaceutical compounding company has been charged with issuing tainted products. In March 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention […]
A recent study has caused the FDA to warn that Zithromax antibiotic made by Pfizer Inc. may cause a “small increase” in the risk of cardiovascular death compared with another common antibiotic. The study states that the antibiotic which is used to treat infections, caused a “small absolute increase in cardiovascular deaths” among patients, particularly […]
On Wednesday, April 11, 2012, an Arkansas court fined healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, $1.2 billion after a jury found that the companies had minimized or concealed the dangers associated with the drug, Risperdal. The fine was for nearly 240,000 violations of the Arkansas Medicaid fraud law, as well as […]
Defective Generic vs. Brand name drugs: What your pharmacists don’t tell you. “What’s in a name? that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” When Shakespeare penned that line for Juliet about Romeo, he had no idea how wrong he was when it comes to dangerous drugs that slip by […]
Pfizer has voluntarily recalled 14 lots of Lo/Ovral-28 tablets and 14 groups of the generic versions of the pill — one million total pill packs were recalled due to a packaging error. Many women have already been effected by birth control pill recalls in Jacksonville, FL. If you or someone you know has been effected, […]
The Food and Drug Administration has announced that it was revoking its approval of the drug Avastin for breast cancer after concluding that it “has not been shown to be safe and effective for that use.” Avastin, made by the pharmaceutical company Roche, will remain an approved treatment for certain types of colon, lung, kidney and […]
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a recall warning for specific lots of Kotex tampons contaminated with a bacterium that could cause vaginal infections and other health risks. The recall is limited to two specific lots of Kotex Natural Balance Security Unscented Tampons Regular Absorbency manufactured by Kimberly-Clark. According to the FDA, both […]
FDA Warning — Birth Control Pills Yaz, Yasmin and Other Drospirenone Pills: Possible Increased Risk of Blood Clots The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a Safety Communication reporting that it “remained concerned” about the potential increased risk of blood clots associated with the use of drospirenone-containing birth control pills. Drospirenone is the synthetic progestin […]