Events

Field Safety Notices about SynchroMed® II Implantable Drug Infusion Pump

According to Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices of the Republic of Slovenia (via FOI), this field safety notices involved a device in Slovenia that was produced by Medtronic.

What is this?

Field safety notices are communications sent out by medical device manufacturers or their representatives in relation to actions that they may be taking in relation to their product that is on the market. These are mainly for health workers, but also for users. They can include recalls and alerts.

Learn more about the data here
  • Type of Event
    Field Safety Notice
  • Event Country
    Slovenia
  • Event Source
    AMPMDRS
  • Notes / Alerts
    Data from Slovenia is current through February 2019. All of the data comes from the Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices of the Republic of Slovenia (via FOI), except for the categories Manufacturer Parent Company and Product Classification.
    The Parent Company and the Product Classification were added by ICIJ.
    The parent company information is based on 2017 public records. The device classification information comes from FDA’s Product Classification by Review Panel, based on matches of recall data from the U.S. and Slovenia.
  • Extra notes in the data
  • Reason
    This communication is an update to medtronic’s march 2014 notification regarding the potential for synchromed ii pump overinfusion. this notification provides updated information related to contributing causes, occurrence rate and patient management recommendations. consistent with the march 2014 communication, medtronic is not retrieving synchromed ii pumps from the field or recommending prophylactic replacement of the pumps. please share the enclosed recommendations and this update with personnel responsible for the management of patients implanted with a synchromed ii pump. explanation of the issue: “overinfusion” is defined as the delivery of more drug volume than the programmed rate, exceeding the pump’s flow rate accuracy specification. pump reservoir contents aspirated during a refill procedure that are less than expected may indicate that the pump has overinfused. overinfusion may or may not be associated with clinically relevant symptoms. when the pump delivers more drug volume than the programmed rate, patients may experience overdose symptoms, and the pump reservoir will deplete more quickly than expected. patients may experience underdose or withdrawal symptoms if the drug is depleted prior to the scheduled refill date from an overinfusing pump. .

Device

SynchroMed® II Implantable Drug Infusion Pump

Manufacturer

Medtronic
  • Manufacturer Parent Company (2017)
    Medtronic plc
  • Manufacturer comment
    “If our surveillance systems identify a potential performance issue, our personnel promptly evaluate the problem, including, when appropriate, conducting root cause investigations and internal testing to assess whether the product continues to meet specifications and defined performance criteria,” Medtronic told ICIJ in a statement. “In some cases, based on this evaluation, Medtronic may determine that a recall is necessary.” The company said that it communicates with healthcare providers and/or patients and provide recommendations to address such issues. Medtronic noted that these communications can include letters, emails, calls, press releases, physician notifications and social media postings, as well as informing the FDA and other regulators of the actions.
  • Source
    AMPMDRS