Seizure Medication Recall!

For anyone who has a dog or cat on phenobarbital, this could be serious. I'll let the article do the talking:

Mislabeled Phenobarbital Drug Recall: Seizure Patients at Risk

By Amy Haase

Last Updated Mar 11, 2011, Published Mar 10, 2011

U.S. FDA has recalled large amounts of phenobarbital, a common anti-seizure drug used by veterinarians, upon discovery that the pills are acetaminophen.

Today in a press release by the American Veterinary Medical Association to veterinary members, at 3:45 this afternoon, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that a large amount of the common anticonvulsant phenobarbital produced by the Qualitest Pharmaceuticals are actually mislabeled acetaminophen and hydrocodone. This is a common drug prescribed for veterinary patients who suffer from seizure disorders such as epilepsy. The company announced a voluntary recall of the Phenobarbital tablets on February 5th, 2011, and the FDA has recently received reports of severe adverse events associated with administration of mislabeled product to pets.

In addition, Phenobarbital is actually produced as a human drug that is commonly used in veterinary medicine, but this recall also affects people on the medication as well. According to the FDA's prior press release, the following information is given for human medical advice, "As a result of this mix-up patients may unintentionally take Hydrocodone and acetaminophen instead of Phenobarbital. ... Hydrocodone can lead to serious adverse effects including respiratory depression, CNS depression, coma and death... Unintentional administration of acetaminophen may result in liver toxicity in patients on other acetaminophen containing medications, patients with liver dysfunction, or people who consume more than 3 alcoholic beverages a day. Additionally, missing doses of Phenobarbital could result in loss of seizure control."

 Read the whole story!


I seriously hope that there are no cats taking this recalled product since
acetominophen = dead kitty! There are cases where we use phenobarbital in cats, though not as commonly as we do in dogs. But dogs can at least tolerate SOME acetominophen. It's not GREAT for them but cats CANNOT have it!