Recall of mis-labelled pills for urinary problems

SCORES of patients with urinary problems are unknowingly taking blood pressure-lowering tablets following a dangerous pill swap blunder.

The potentially life-threatening labelling error led this week to the recall of at least 60 000 bottles of the generic drug‚ distributed mainly in the Western Cape.

A pharmacist there raised the alarm last month after discovering that a container of Mylan Oxybutynin 5mg 100s tablets – used to treat urinary incontinence and urgency – actually contained Mylan Indapamide 2.5mg 30s.

Indapmide is given to patients suffering from hypertension.

The mix-up at Mylan’s packaging plant in Germiston means patients who are not hypertensive are taking pills that drop their blood pressure.

Not only could the wrong medication lead to them urinating more‚ rather than less‚ it could also lead to nausea and dizziness.

In patients with low blood pressure already‚ the consequences could be far more severe.

The recall‚ launched by Mylan SA in consultation with the Medicines Control Control (MCC)‚ has been classified Class 1‚ Type A – the highest recall the authority can impose.

The only public notice so far has been an inconspicuously placed advert in a Cape Town newspaper on Monday.

It was run with no heading at all‚ much less the mandatory “urgent medicine recall” header required by the MCC.

The MCC’s registrar‚ Joey Gouws‚ agreed that Monday’s advert was inadequate and not in keeping with MCC guidelines.

The recalled batch of Mylan Oxybutynin is 1600361‚ with expiry date 01/2018. The container should be returned to the retailer for a full refund. — TMG Digital