A Kinked Cannula

Roche Insulin Delivery Systems recalls Accu-Chek due to product defect

/ Author:  / Reviewed by: Joseph V. Madia, MD

Roche Insulin Delivery Systems announced today that it is notifying its customers and healthcare professionals about the recall of the ACCU-CHEK FlexLink Plus infusion set.

The company is recalling the product because of the potential for under delivery of insulin due to a kinked/bent cannula when inserting the ACCU-CHEK FlexLink Plus infusion set. If this remains unnoticed, this can result in under delivery leading to elevation of blood glucose levels.

The symptoms of hyperglycemia include nausea/vomiting, blurred vision, excessive thirst or hunger, frequent urination, fatigue/tiredness/sleepiness, headache, fruity acetone breath and abdominal pain. If untreated hyperglycemia could lead to diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), serious illnesses and in severe cases death. Patients experiencing these symptoms are advised to check their blood glucose to ensure that the blood glucose level is within an acceptable range as defined by the patient’s healthcare team and to follow the medical advice given by the their healthcare team or contact their physician.

Roche Insulin Delivery Systems advises all customers to discontinue use of ACCU-CHEK FlexLink Plus infusion set and to contact their physicians or caregivers to determine if any changes to their therapy are needed and the local ACCU-CHEK Customer Care 1-800-688-4578 to receive support on obtaining alternative infusion sets, such as the ACCU-CHEK Tender or ACCU-CHEK Rapid-D infusion set. Until this issue is fixed, the ACCU-CHEK FlexLink Plus infusion sets will not be available.

Roche Insulin Delivery Systems emphasizes that the above mentioned action only applies to the ACCU-CHEK FlexLink Plus infusion set that was launched in November 2010. The use of the previous version ACCU -CHEK Ultraflex, other Accu-Chek infusion sets or insulin pumps are not affected and insulin pump therapy can be continued as directed with these products or other alternatives.

Review Date: 
February 24, 2011