At least 34 North Texas hospitals and clinics received medicine from a Massachusetts drug-maker linked to a nationwide outbreak of meningitis, according to a new list released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration late Tuesday.
Amid safety concerns, the FDA has called for a voluntary recall of all medicine shipped from the New England Compound Center since May 21, not just the steroid injections believed to have caused meningitis.
Investigators have already linked the tainted medicine to one case of the disease in North Texas -- a patient at the Dallas Back Pain Management center.
Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital in Southlake has previously acknowledged receiving tainted medicine from the New England facility but says it immediately pulled the drugs and notified patients.
Other North Texas hospitals that are included on the FDA's new list as receiving other medicine from the compounding center include:
- Childrens Medical Center in Dallas. A spokesman says it treated 34 patients with amino acids not linked to any illness, and notified all of them as a precaution.
- Cook Childrens Medical Center in Fort Worth. The hospital said Wednesday that a cleanser, Glutaraldehyde, that is used to disinfect medical equipment is the only product it received from the New England Compounding Center. The hospital said it did not contact patients about the cleanser but sent the chemical back to the New England Compounding Center.
- Medical City in Dallas. The hospital immediately pulled all drugs it bought from the New England Compounding Center and is following up with patients, spokeswoman Chris Hawes said.
- Medical Center of Arlington. The hospital said it immediately pulled the medicine in question as soon as it learned of the recall but a "small number" of patients had already received doses. "While these medications have not currently been confirmed as causing infections and authorities believe the risk is very low, we are in the process of notifying these patients out of an abundance of caution," the hospital said in a statement.
- UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. "UTSW had a small inventory of the topical cream, which was pulled as soon as the FDA advisory came out," the hospital said in a statement.
- Huguley Memorial Medical Center in Burleson. Pharmacy Director James Hall said it got 100 doses of a drug used to help digestion, which were all used on patients. Hall said there is no reason to believe anything was wrong with the doses but is contacting patients. "At this point, we're communicating in writing to any patient who might have received the product we bought from the NECC. ... We've quarantined a supply from a partner company Ameridose," he said. "We're waiting on steps to return it or dispose of it."
- Plaza Medical Center in Fort Worth. The hospital said none of the drugs it got from the New England Compounding Center are among those said to be contaminated. The hospital said it sent letters to patients to let them know where the drug they took came from and to tell them they are fine. Plaza Medical Center said the drugs are locked up and will not be used.
A few other North Texas health care providers were on an early list of customers that the FDA posted Monday but then later pulled because of concerns over its accuracy.
Baylor Medical Center, Childrens Medical Center in Plano and Dr. Douglas Lorimer in Fort Worth were not included on the new, updated list released Tuesday and are not involved in the voluntary recall.
More: Click here to see the entire list as posted on the FDA's website.
NBC 5's Stefan Gorman and Mark Schnyder contributed to this report.
