Heparin Injuries due to Contamination and Dosage Amounts by Largest Heparin Manufacturers

(Parents scroll to bottom for important information regarding Heparin and its effects on children)

Heparin, an anticoagulant (blood thinner), which is commonly used to treat and prevent blood clots in the veins, arteries and lungs has made its way into the spotlight of the FDA once again.  Heparin has been in the news for many different reasons over the past year and is continuing to do so again but this time for the dosing amounts for Heparin.  Many people are put on Heparin everyday to help get rid of blood clots or help prevent them from forming but if you were being given Heparin in the hospital you would probably not expect that you could possibly become injured or even die from being administered the blood thinning drug but it has happened.  As a matter of a fact there have been many injured and many who have died due to Heparin contamination and incorrect dosages of Heparin.  

One of the largest makers of intravenous Heparin, Baxter Healthcare Corp., was investigated earlier this year for the death of two patients who were administered Heparin after both of the patients suffered an adverse reaction to the drug which caused cerebral hemorrhaging.  The FDA said that the Heparin contamination may have been deliberate.  Changzhou SPL, a Chinese subsidiary of Scientific Protein Laboratories - the company that supplied contaminated Heparin to Baxter Healthcare Corp., was being identified as the source of the contamination. The FDA believes that the contamination was deliberate because the contaminate that was found in the Heparin supplied to Baxter Healthcare Corp. was oversulfated chrondroitin sulfate which costs about $891 less pound than Heparin does.  Investigations were conducted for this matter and are still ongoing but seem to point to deliberate contamination of the drug.

Recently the FDA has addressed a different issue with the blood thinning drug Heparin.  The FDA announced earlier this month that new drug standards would cut the drugs potency.  The revised standard for Heparin will be 10% less potent per unit.  The decision to lower the potency of the drug was decided by the United States Pharmacopeia (USP).  The FDA announced that since the FDA approval for Heparin and the dosage amounts have not changed it will be important for health care professionals to make sure when they administer Heparin they are administering the correct potency.   While there is not a set amount of Heparin that should be administered to a person because the dosage of Heparin depends on a patients type of condition, severity of their condition and a patient's medical history it will be very important to make sure the correct potency of the drug is being administered.  Administering the wrong potency of Heparin to a patient would mean that the patient would be getting additional amounts of the drug and could result in serious side effects such as: 

• Blood in the urine
• Black bloody stools
• Excessive or unstoppable bleeding (most commonly from the nose, gums and/or existing wounds)
• Easy bruising

If you suffer any symptoms it is important that you notify the hospital or doctor taking care of you immediately.  In some cases Heparin overdoses can be severe and end in death.  You will also want to speak to an attorney who handles Heparin overdose cases so that he/she can review your injury case so that you can be compensated for any losses you have incurred from the drug overdose.   

A NOTE TO PARENTS ABOUT CHILDREN ON HEPARIN: 
Adverse effects of Heparin in infants and young children can be very severe and result in long lasting injuries and even possibly death.  Most of the deaths and injuries suffered by infants and children using Heparin are caused by overdoses - mostly due to medication errors at hospitals.  The low dose form of Heparin, Heplock, which is administered to infants and children in necessary circumstances comes in a vile that is similar in size, shape and even the label looks similar.  In 2006 three children died in a hospital in Indiana and in 2008 17 children died in a Texas hospital and many more were children were injured because of they were administered the wrong form of the blood thinning drug, instead of being administered Heplock they were administered Heparin.  The form of Heparin that is administered to adults is 10,000 units/mL compared to Heplock the children's form of the drug which is 10 units/mL.  You can see how a mistake as simple as grabbing the wrong vial could be detrimental to your child's health and life.  Unfortunately, life threatening medical errors are far too common.  If your child was injured due to a medical error fill out our web form and we will be glad to get back to you as soon as possible regarding your child's injury case.