(Newser)
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Federal health officials today implicated two more drugs in the meningitis outbreak that has killed 15 people and sickened at least 214, NBC News reports. One is a steroid called triamcinolone acetonide, which is similar to methylprednisolone acetate, the back pain steroid that officials have already linked to the outbreak. The other is a cardioplegic solution used during open heart surgery.
Both are distributed by the New England Compounding Center, the same pharmacy that produced the original steroids suspected of causing the outbreak. So the FDA is advising people to be careful of any injectable NECC drugs, including those used for the eyes or during eye surgery, as well as any cardioplegic solutions. "Patients who received these products should be alerted to the potential risk of infection," the FDA said in a statement.
