In the latest recall to come down the pike, Endo Pharmaceuticals has pulled two lots of its Endocet pain reliever because of packaging problems. The two lots of Endocet 10 mg/325 mg--which combines 10 mg of oxycodone with 325 mg of acetaminophen--might actually contain some Endocet tablets with 650 mg of acetaminophen.
Because excess doses of acetaminophen are associated with liver damage, the misplaced tablets could be dangerous to some patients, the company said. The two strengths are different shapes and sizes; the 325-mg dose is capsule-shaped and smaller, while the 650-mg pill is oval and larger, the company said.
This is just the latest pill mix-up to result in a recall. Pfizer's Greenstone unit pulled one lot of its antidepressant citalopram because the bottles might have actually contained the prostate drug finasteride. Qualitest Pharmaceuticals pulled several lots because bottles of generic Phenobarbital might have contained knockoff Vicodin. And Upsher-Smith Laboratories expanded a previous recall because higher-strength tablets of the blood thinner Jantoven were found in lower-dose bottles.
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