The Department of Health (DH) today (February 28) drew public attention to the recall by Abbott Diabetes Care of certain brands of its blood glucose monitoring systems which may produce inaccurate glucose results.
The DH received the above safety alert from the local supplier, Abbott Laboratories Limited. The manufacturer, Abbott Diabetes Care, has identified through internal testing and investigation that certain brands of their blood glucose monitoring systems, namely FreeStyle, FreeStyle Flash, FreeStyle Papillon, FreeStyle Mini, FreeStyle Papillon Mini, Optium Mini Blood Glucose Meters, FreeStyle Navigator Continuous Glucose Monitoring System and FreeStyle blood glucose meter built into the OmniPod Insulin Management System, have the potential to produce erroneously low blood glucose results when used in conjunction with any FreeStyle test strip.
A spokesman for the DH explained that falsely low blood glucose readings may mislead a diabetic patient into inappropriate management of his or her condition, resulting in hyperglycemia.
So far, the DH has not received any local report of adverse events arising from use of the affected products.
People who are using the specific brands of glucose meters concerned should contact Abbott Laboratories Limited for advice and follow-up," the spokesman added.
The company has set up a customer service hotline 5808 4196 to answer related enquiries.
Ends/Friday, February 28, 2014