Teva Animal Health’s injectable ketamine hydrochloride (100mg/ml, 10 ml vials) is being recalled as a result of an “increased trend in serious adverse events associated with this product, including lack of effect, prolonged effect, and death”. Ketamine is used as an anesthetic agent by veterinarians.

The American Veterinary Medical Association has posted several alerts starting Dec 22, 2009 concerning this voluntary recall. This article includes the following points:

“Teva Animal Health is not the only manufacturer of ketamine hydrochloride in the U.S. Teva Animal Health also manufactures ketamine hydrochloride products for other companies. These products are sold under various brand names. Therefore, regardless of the brand name on the product, look at the lot number on all ketamine hydrochloride (100 mg/ml in 10 ml vials) products.”

Update January 14, 2010 (on the same AVMA page shown above)
Butorphanol is not affected by the expanded ketamine recall. Several butorphanol products manufactured by Teva Animal Health, Inc. were recalled as a precautionary measure at the distributor level in September 2009. Neither Teva Animal Health, Inc. nor the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine has observed an increasing trend of adverse event reports associated with the use of these butorphanol products that would justify further action beyond the initial precautionary recall in September.

Read the article to find the lot numbers involved and the private label names this product is sold under. Veterinarians are being asked to cease using this product immediately and return it to the manufacturer.

See also the FDA notice.

I read elsewhere that five cats have died due to this product’s use.

Please pass this information to any pet owners who have surgical procedures scheduled. Ask how your pet’s anesthesia will be handled. Losing a pet during a routine procedure is heartbreaking, as we discovered when our darling Zia died during a routine dental procedure last July.