Pfizer Inc. announced yesterday that it is voluntarily recalling 14 lots of Lo/Ovral®-28 (norgestrel and ethinyl estradiol) Tablets and 14 lots of generic Norgestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol Tablets for costumers in the U.S market. The recalling reason is some of the birth control tablet may be out of sequence, some blister packs may contain an inexact count of inert or there may be more inactive pills in other packages. Pfizer said in the FDA recall notice:
‘These tablets were manufactured and packaged by Pfizer Inc., commercialized by Akrimax Rx Products and labeled under the Akrimax Pharmaceuticals brand. This product is distributed to warehouses, clinics and retail pharmacies nationwide.’
The Assiciated Press reported that the recalled packets have expiration dates that range from July 31, 2013 to March 31, 2014.
According to the Huffing ton Post, Dr. Adam Griffin, an assistant professor in the obstetrics and gynecology department at the University of Rochester Medical Center, said,” it’s concerning- I just hope there’s not too much of a fallout from this. Missed pills come up often, but it’s usually because of operator error on the part of the patient.”
There are 21 days worth of active pills and seven days of inert pills in the birth control packets affected by the recall. The 21 days of active pills have hormones in them that prevent pregnancy and the seven days pills don’t contain any hormones and are just meant as a placeholder.
Related with that, Griffin explained that the highest risk of pregnancy from the recall would be if the mislabeled pills were in the week right before the seven days of inert pills, or in the week following the seven days of inert pills.
It’s not a fatal condition when a woman misses just one pill, she just has to take it is as soon as she remembers. It’s a serious concern when more than on consecutive pill is missed. In that condition, the risk of contraceptive failure is increasing. Woman with the affected pills should use non-hormonal, barrier methods such as condoms beginning now. Bothering about the pills, unprotected sex, and the birth control, it’s better for the woman make a consultation with her doctor. She should also return the birth control to the pharmacy.
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