Cooper University Hospital received an advisory alert notice from the FDA regarding their ongoing investigation of the New England Compounding Center (NECC). NECC produced an injectable steroid medication, methylprednisolone acetate, which has been implicated in the multistate outbreak of fungal meningitis and joint infections. Patients have developed meningitis potentially associated with certain contaminated epidural injections produced by this company.
Cooper has never purchased any of the products identified as contaminated. The FDA has recommended that healthcare professionals contact all patients who were administered any injectable medication from or produced by New England Compounding Company (NECC) between May 2012 and October 4, 2012.
The only injectable products purchased by Cooper from NECC during this time frame are Dipyridamole injection and Mannitol injections. These NECC injectable drugs have been removed from stock. No confirmed reports of infections have been linked to either of these drugs.
Cooper is contacting any patient who may have received one of these two injectable drugs during this specified timeframe as a precaution and in accordance with the FDA recommendation.
If you want to learn more about the investigation of products from NECC, you may call FDA’s Division of Drug Information at 855-543-DRUG (3784) and press * to get the most recent information regarding the multi-state meningitis outbreak, report an adverse event, or speak directly to a pharmacist. Additional information is available at www.cdc.gov/hai/outbreaks/meningitis.html and www.fda.gov/drugs.