DEERFIELD, Ill., May 12 (UPI) -- U.S. health officials are investigating whether the blood thinner heparin is linked to two patient deaths, the product's maker says.
Baxter International Inc. of Deerfield, Ill., said Tuesday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and a Delaware hospital were looking into whether medical providers were using heparin contained in intravenous bags when the patients died, The Chicago Tribune reported.
The use of heparin has been suspended at Beebe Medical Center in Lewes, Del., Friday, where five patients were reported to have had such problems as bleeding in the brain, the company said.
"We have not received similar reports of adverse events from any other hospitals regarding this widely used product," Baxter spokeswoman Erin Gardiner told the Tribune.
FDA spokeswoman Karen Riley said the Beebe situation "appears to be an isolated incident."
