ICU Medical Recalls Potassium Chloride Lot
ICU Medical is recalling one lot of potassium chloride injection bags packaged in cases indicating 20 mEq per bag. The company says it has received a customer complaint which states that the 20 mEq bags have incorrect overwrap labels which state 10 mEq. If a healthcare provider mistakenly calculates the patient dose using 10 mEq, a patient would receive an overdose of potassium chloride, a recall notice says. “Severe hyperkalemia after large intravenous overdoses causes neuromuscular dysfunction including muscle weakness, ascending paralysis, listlessness, vertigo, mental confusion, hypotension, cardiac dysrhythmias, or death from cardiac arrest,” it warns. Potassium chloride is indicated in the treatment of potassium deficiency when oral replacement is not feasible.