Nationwide anaesthetic recall hits surgeons hard
Pharma company has recalled popular pain-relievers Xylocaine and Sensorcaine due to sterility issues in its Bangalore plant; while stock at chemists have been recalled, doctors fear surgeries may get affected
Xylocaine and Sensorcaine are market names for Lignocaine, a drug that is as commonly used in hospitals as salt in the kitchen. The drug, used primarily as an anaesthetic, is the popular choice for 70-80 per cent of doctors in the medical community, who use it pervasively for a host of minor procedures, from needle biopsies, abscess drainages, suturing of cuts to the insertion of catheters. In India, one of the major manufacturers of the drug is AstraZeneca India.
Ironically, a majority of city-based surgeons and anaesthetists are completely oblivious to the fact that this very firm has recalled all its manufactured samples of the anaesthetic, after discovering that sterility for a batch was compromised. This effectively means that civic hospitals, which use these drugs extensively, are continuing to administer possibly contaminated samples of the drug to their sundry patients.
More here:http://www.mid-day.com/news/2012/mar/060312-mumbai-Nationwide-anaesthetic-recall-hits-surgeons-hard.htm
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