Hospitals and surgical centers across the country are being told to pull two lots of Brevital Sodium, an injectable anesthetic, after cellulose particles were found in the product. Par Health announced the voluntary recall on Oct. 8, and the FDA posted the notice the following day.
The company warned that giving the drug with particles in it carries a "reasonable probability of causing life-threatening adverse health consequences." Those risks include pulmonary emboli, or blockages in the blood vessels of the lungs, as well as blockages in other vessels that can cause tissue death and organ damage, and inflammation of vein walls that can lead to clotting.
