Imported pain medication clogged feeding tubes of newborns: report
The use of acetaminophen acquired from Turkiye from the company Atabay increased the risk of a life-threatening illness in neonatal patients, new reporting shows.
The Globe and Mail obtained 28 pages of emails between Alberta Health and Alberta Health Services.
They show the medication clogged feeding tubes due to a higher viscosity than the medication typically used by AHS, and the higher volume of liquid increased the risk of necrotizing enterocolitis, which inflames the intestine and can be fatal.
In a statement on Wednesday, AHS said the decision was made to stop using the medication after approximately two months because of the issues, adding no patients became ill or were injured as a result of the medication.
"Adverse reactions included patients not tolerating the taste of the imported medication, or the volume," the statement said.
The NDP health critic says the decision to bring in the medication endangered Alberta children.
"The idea that now we know that it's actually thicker and clogging tubes to feed very vulnerable young babies is outrageous," Luanne Metz told reporters on Wednesday. "This is what happens when you end up with unintended consequences when you do things that are not rational and not planned."
The province imported the Turkish medicine in 2022 during a shortage of children's pain medication, a decision Health Minister Adriana LaGrange stands behind.
"With over 700,000 children under 12 in Alberta, it was critical for government to act and obtain a much needed, additional supply to support families and ease the strain on the health system," she said in a written statement on Wednesday. "We acted out of compassion and concern at a time when you could not find children’s medication on the shelves."
A November report by the Globe and Mail showed only about 5,000 bottles of five million ordered by the province ever made it to pharmacies.
At that time, LaGrange said the province set aside $70 million to purchase the medication.
She said $20 million was ultimately spent, the rest is being held as a credit with the drug company.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Chelan Skulski
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than half of Canadians say freedom of speech is under threat, new poll suggests
A new poll suggests a majority of Canadians feel their right to freedom of speech is in danger.
NEW Kim Kardashian brand kids' sleepwear and more: Here are some recalls to watch out for
Here are the latest recalls Canadians should watch out for, according to Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Maple Leafs down Bruins 2-1 to force Game 7
William Nylander scored twice and Joseph Woll made 22 saves as the Toronto Maple Leafs downed the Boston Bruins 2-1 on Thursday to force Game 7 in their first-round series.
Is your password 123456? Here's why you should make it stronger
With the sheer number of passwords needed today, it may come as no surprise that over 60 per cent of Canadians feel overwhelmed, and over a third reportedly forget their passwords monthly.
Britney Spears and Sam Asghari are officially divorced and single
Britney Spears and Sam Asghari are officially divorced and single.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
Jurors in Trump hush money trial hear recording of pivotal call on plan to buy affair story
Jurors in the hush money trial of Donald Trump heard a recording Thursday of him discussing with his then-lawyer and personal fixer a plan to purchase the silence of a Playboy model who has said she had an affair with the former president.
OPP's mandatory alcohol screening during traffic stops 'not acceptable': CCLA
A spike in impaired driving-related collisions has caused Ontario’s provincial police to begin enforcing mandatory alcohol screening (MAS) at all traffic stops in the Greater Toronto Area -- a move one civil rights group says is ‘not acceptable.’
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.