Healthcare professionals should be cautious of possible xylazine inclusion in fentanyl, heroin, and other illicit drug overdoses, as naloxone may not be able to reverse its effects, FDA said yesterday. Xylazine is approved by FDA for use in animals as a sedative and pain reliever. The agency said it is aware of increasing reports of serious side effects from individuals exposed to fentanyl, heroin, and other illicit drugs contaminated with xylazine. Healthcare professionals should continue to administer naloxone for opioid overdoses but consider xylazine exposure if patients are not responding to naloxone or when there are signs or symptoms of xylazine exposure (e.g., severe, necrotic skin ulcerations). With no recognized reversal agent for xylazine approved for use in humans, healthcare professionals should provide appropriate supportive measures to patients who do not respond to naloxone.
Aspirin-containing medicines to treat heartburn, sour stomach, acid indigestion or upset stomach can cause stomach or intestinal bleeding, especially in some people, FDA is warning consumers. “Take a close look at the Drug Facts label. If the product has aspirin, consider choosing something else for your stomach symptoms,” says Karen Murry, MD, Deputy Director of the Office of Nonprescription Drugs at FDA. “Unless people read the Drug Facts label when they’re looking for stomach symptom relief, they might not even think about the possibility that a stomach medicine could contain aspirin.”