Alere Inc. initiating voluntary withdrawal of Alere INRatio® and INRatio® 2 PT/INR Monitoring System that may pose serious health risks
- Starting date:
- July 16, 2016
- Posting date:
- July 16, 2016
- Type of communication:
- Information Update
- Subcategory:
- Medical Device
- Source of recall:
- Health Canada
- Issue:
- Medical Devices
- Audience:
- General Public
- Identification number:
- RA-59430
Issue
Products affected
What you should do
Who is affected
Background
Report health or safety concerns
Media enquiries
Public enquiries
What Health Canada is doing
Issue
Alere Inc. is withdrawing the Alere INRatio® and INRatio®2 Prothrombin Time Monitoring Systems (professional and self-test) devices from the Canadian market. These devices measure blood clotting time in patients requiring warfarin and other oral blood-thinning medicines.
There is a risk that the Alere devices provide an inaccurate low reading. This could result in an improper dosage of warfarin or other blood-thinning medications being administered, leading to excessive bleeding, which may result in serious health concerns that could potentially be fatal.
Products affected
Alere INRatio® and INRatio®2 PT/INR Monitor Systems:
• INRatio Patient Self-Test Kit
• INRatio PT Professional Kit
• INRatio2 Prothrombin Time (PT) Monitoring System, Professional
• INRatio 2 Prothrombin Time (PT) Monitoring System, Self-Test
• INRatio/INRatio 2 Prothrombin Time/INR Test Strips
What you should do
• Consult with your doctor if you have used this product and have health concerns.
• Report any adverse incidents to Health Canada.
• Patients should speak with their healthcare providers prior to making any changes to their current PT/INR monitoring practices.
• Alere Inc. has also committed to providing further information to patients and healthcare providers to assist them in transitioning to an alternate method of monitoring. Alere Inc. will be providing this information as soon as it is available.
Who is affected
Patients and healthcare professionals using the Alere INRatio® and INRatio® 2 PT professional use and self-test use Monitoring Systems to determine INR levels for monitoring the effect of warfarin on clotting time.
Background
In 2014, Alere initiated a voluntary recall action to inform users of the INRatio® Patient Self-Testing Monitoring System, INRatio® PT Monitoring System (Professional Use) and INRatio® Prothrombin Time/INR Strips that they may provide an INR result that, in certain cases, is significantly lower than a result obtained using a laboratory INR system. That recall can be found here: http://www.healthycanadians.gc.ca/recall-alert-rappel-avis/hc-sc/2014/42959r-eng.php.
Report health or safety concerns
• Call toll-free at 1-866-234-2345
• Visit MedEffect Canada's web page on Adverse Reaction Reporting for information on how to report online, by mail or by fax.
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Media enquiries
Health Canada
(613) 957-2983
Public enquiries
(613) 957-2991
1-866 225-0709
What Health Canada is doing
Health Canada is communicating this information to healthcare professionals and to the public. Health Canada is working with the manufacturer and closely monitoring the situation and the implementation of necessary corrective and preventative actions.