Health officials warn of naloxone kit recall

The maker of a nasal spray in naloxone kits used by local law enforcement, individuals and other agencies to reverse overdoses from heroin and prescription painkillers has issued a nationwide recall for some of the atomizers used to administer the drug because they may not properly dispense the drug.

The recalled atomizers may dispense the drug as a stream, rather than a spray. But the drug itself is not defective, and there have been no incidents reported locally in which the nasal kits failed to revive victims who might otherwise have died as a result of an overdose, according to officials at Montgomery County Alcohol, Drug Addiction & Mental Health Services, which is spearheading the fight to combat the heroin and prescription drug epidemic in the area.

“So far in Montgomery County, we have not heard of any problems with the atomizers, but everybody should check the numbers,” said ADAMHS spokeswoman Ann Stevens, referring to recalled lot numbers for the product that can be found on the agency’s website at mcadamhs.org. “What we’re concerned about right now is the general public who may have a kit in their home and not realize it is affected by the recall.”

Consumers who may have purchased naloxone kits directly from a pharmacy or had naloxone prescribed by a doctor have been advised to return the kits to the location where they purchased them. Consumers can also check for pharmacies that may have sold the product, from Illinois-based Teleflex Medical, at the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy website. In addition, the Ohio Department of Health has established a toll free hotline for questions about the recall at 844-364-4063.

“People who have naloxone at home should try to go back to where they purchased it, and and see if they can get another atomizer,” Stevens said. “If the atomizer doesn’t work correctly, it’s going to be less effective in helping somebody come out of an overdose quickly. And in an overdose, time is of the essence.”

Local law enforcement and EMS professionals get the naloxone kits from a central repository, and they have already begun checking for the recalled products, Stevens said.

“They’re going through all the lot numbers at the repository to see if any of the atomizers are affected by this recall,” she said, pointing to a list of 32 recalled lot numbers. “We just got the (recall) notice late last week, so there’s a lot of supply that needs to be checked. That’s what people are doing right now. We hope we don’t have a large stock (of the recalled items), but we’re checking just to make sure.”

MAD300 nasal atomizer lot numbers impacted by the recall are as follows:

160108 160231 160440 160708 160117 160300 160500 160718 160126 160313 160518 160728 160145 160327 160602 160800 160146 160400 160611 160804 160200 160409 160621 160814 160219 160422 160631 160816 160225 160432 160701 160823

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