The FDA issued an updated report yeseterday on the number of deaths reported after heparin administration that occurred and were submitted to the FDA from January 1, 2007 through May 31, 2008. (See FDA 06/17/08 “Information on Adverse Event Reports and Heparin.”)

According to the FDA, as of May 31, 2008, there have been 246 reports of death in patients receiving heparin since January 1, 2007. Out of the 246 reported deaths, 149 of the reports included one or more allergic symptoms or symptoms of hypotension. This report is nearly double the FDA's earlier report in April 2008, which advised of 131 reported deaths, with 81 of those reports including one or more allergic symptoms or symptoms of hypotension.

The FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) has also recently reported 11 deaths and 86 injuries since January 1, 2008, which have been linked to use of medical devices containing heparin. (06/03/08 FDA web update: "Questions and Answers on Heparin, Medical Devices and In-vitro Diagnostic Assays.") The heparin in the majority of these medical devices was found to be contaminated with OSCS.