Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Epidaural Steroid Injection - FDA Alert

FDA MedWatch Alert
Sent to subscribers of: methylprednisolone systemic
New England Compounding Center (NECC) Potentially Contaminated Medication: Fungal Meningitis Outbreak
October 6, 2012
Audience: Surgery, Anesthesia, Neurology, Healthcare Professionals.

[UPDATED 10/06/2012] On October 4, 2012, the CDC and FDA recommended that all health care professionals cease use and remove from their pharmaceutical inventory any product produced by the New England Compounding Center (NECC), located at 697 Waverly Street in Framingham, MA. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) is collaborating with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on a multi-state investigation of Aspergillus meningitis among patients who received an epidural steroid injection.
Read more...
New England Compounding Center (NECC) Potentially Contaminated Medication: Fungal Meningitis Outbreak October 6, 2012
Updated Oct 10...
http://www.drugs.com/fda/new-england-com...reak-13186.html

More on the story here -
http://www.clickondetroit.com/lifestyle/...2p/-/index.html

Several deaths are now reported in the USA -

yes, i know, i saw it.

thankful i didn't have one of those steroid injections. just goes to show you that something that is generally low risk (i've had a number of injections over the years that have given me my functionality back and/or relieved unbearable pain) can come with risks.


thanks for posting this. I was going to as well.

This is a link that has the locations where vials of the steroid were sent. I'm relieved there were none to Oklahoma, since I had two epidurals last month.

CDC link for locations where contaminated vials were sent

Great to have that info, well spotted Rumble. Am now seeing warning information on most medical websites...not good.

wow. I had three injections over a year ago,,,,,right now I'm glad I didn't have any more,,,,,,,,Hoping nobody here is affected.

Today, got an interesting message, straight from my interventionalist himself, in regards to injections.

He called to say:

1. Be aware of the signs and symptoms of meningitis

2. I was at very low risk because:

a. I was injected into muscles (trigger points), not my spine

b. The med he uses on me is not the recalled med (just from the same company)

c. Its been long enough since I had triggerpoint injections that if I had been contaminated, I should have had symptoms by now. Its been months since I was injected.

My husband was surprised the doctor himself called. But I'm not. These kinds of things make people panic; I didn't because i kind of assumed what the doctor said. Plus anytime a doctors office could be sued, they go out of their way to make sure everything has been attended to.

I know, like all else, shots come with risks. But they help so much at times. Just gotta weigh the pros and cons.

I check on my injections. My last SI injection was back in August. I have not heard that there have been any problems here in CA. They showed a map on TV that showed just a few states were affected. I am praying that there are no more cases. Even one death is too many.

Yes, not all states are affected and it is very recent. Scary business though, though TG KA members seem to have bypassed the problem batch.