Duragesis pain patches are a delivery method of the painkiller fentanyl that are able to provide up to three days' relief from severe chronic pain, such as that experienced by bone cancer patients. However, the active ingredient, as well as faulty construction of the patches themselves led to serious risks to patients and an FDA ban.
Dozens of overdoses and deaths were linked to use of Duragesic patches before they were pulled from the market. An overdose of the morphine-like drug can put a patient into a coma and shut down breathing.
FDA officials said they are investigating to what extent the deaths among US patients could be the result of unintentional fentanyl overdose. Such overdoses could come about if patients and doctors do not faithfully follow a series of precautions contained in the prescribing literature, or label, for the drug.
Other possible explanations include rare problems or defects with the patches themselves that would cause too much of the drug to be released into the body too quickly.
With these multiple sources of danger for patients who were prescribed Duragesic patches, the Johnson & Johnson was forced to pull them from the market, and may be held responsible for some of the adverse events. If you feel that you or a loved one has experienced harmful side effects while using Duragesic patches, contact us today to find out if you may have a personal injury claim.