November 21, 2013: Manufacturer Adds Warning to Cap and Ferrule of a Succinylcholine Product
Neuromuscular blocking (paralyzing) agents are high-alert medications. Substitution errors have led to serious injuries and death. In 2006, to reduce the risk of these types of errors, Canadian manufacturers of neuromuscular blocking agents agreed on the ideal features for packaging and labelling of these medications. These agreed-upon features include a standardized warning on the vial cap and/or vial ferrule to identify the product as a paralyzing agent. At the end of 2012, an ISMP Canada safety alert highlighted concerns about a new succinylcholine product, manufactured by Alveda Pharma, that lacked this warning.ISMP Canada is pleased to report that vials of succinylcholine manufactured by Alveda Pharma now include the words "WARNING: PARALYZING AGENT" printed in white on both the red cap and the newly introduced red ferrule.
This improvement is an excellent example of how reports from healthcare professionals can and do facilitate changes with labelling and packaging of health products to nhance medication safety.
Read more...
