Dive Brief:
- Baxter International voluntarily recalled about 284,000 units of its intravenous (IV) solution after a customer complaint identifying the presence of an insect.
- There are two affected products in the two lots of recalled IV solution. One is a 70% dextrose injection with an expiration date of July 31, 2016, and the other is a 0.9% sodium chloride injection expiring on Nov. 30, 2016.
- Baxter has been through this before. In July 2015, Baxter issued a recall due to the possible presence of insects in two lots of its 0.9% Sodium Chloride IV solution.
Dive Insight:
Baxter last year had an unfortunate string of high-profile recall cases involving IV solutions and vascular patches. Complaints stemmed from missing port protectors and leaking containers, as well as the solutions containing insects.
Companies like Baxter respond to quality-control problems through established recall systems stretching from wholesalers down to doctors and pharmacies. Recalls aim to immediately isolate the defective product.
While Baxter was dogged by a number of quality-control issues in 2015, the company distributes a large volume of IV solutions per year, making the percentage of products affected by recalls very small. However, foreign matter in IV solutions can lead to serious health effects if blood vessels are blocked.
Baxter has previously had to pay millions for faulty infusion pumps in 2010.