- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
UVMC notifies patients of recall of medication linked to meningitis outbreak in six eastern states
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Ukiah Valley Medical Center is contacting patients who received injections of a medication that was recalled after it was connected to a fungal meningitis outbreak in six eastern states.
Nick Bejarano, UVMC’s spokesman, said the hospital is one of several in California that used the injectable steroid medication.
The Centers for Disease Control reported that the steroid has been recalled as a precautionary measure by its manufacturer, the New England Compound Center.
No cases have been reported in California thus far.
As of Thursday, the CDC said there were 35 cases of people who had come down with fungal meningitis that had been linked to epidural steroid injections. One case each has been reported in Indiana and North Carolina, two each in Maryland and Florida, four in Virginia and 25 in Tennessee.
Of those 35 cases, there have been six deaths so far, the CDC said.
Meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges, the protective coverings of the brain and spinal cord. The CDC said fungal meningitis occurs when the meninges are infected by a fungus which has been spread through the bloodstream, introduced directly into the central nervous system or that has extended from an infected site next to the central nervous system.
Basic meningitis symptoms include headache, fever, nausea and stiffness of the neck, while those suffering from fungal meningitis may also experience confusion, dizziness, and discomfort from bright lights. The CDC said affected individuals might have just one or two of those symptoms.
While the CDC’s investigation has linked the fungal meningitis outbreak to the injectable steroids, it reported that there is not enough evidence to determine the outbreak’s original source.
California is among 23 states that received the recalled injectable steroid, according to the CDC.
Bejarano said UVMC sent letters both to patients who received the recalled medication but are not believed to be in danger, as well as patients who recently received the injections.
The letters, which went out on Thursday from patient care executive Heather Van Housen, informed UVMC’s patients that a group of patients at an ambulatory center in Tennessee received an epidural injection similar to the ones that UVMC patients received at the Pavilion Surgical Services in Ukiah.
Van Housen’s letter to patients who were not believed to be in danger explained, “you would most likely have already developed meningitis-type symptoms or experienced a different type of pain than your original symptoms.”
To patients who recently received the injections, Van Housen urged them to be aware of symptoms including stiffening of the neck or a different kind of headache than they have previously experienced, as well as fever, stiffness, sensitivity to light or stroke-like symptoms, including localized weakness, numbness or slurred speech.
Van Housen said anyone who experiences those symptoms within one to four weeks following their treatment should seek medical care.
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