Baxter recalls 9 lots of heparin blood thinner

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Nine lots of heparin blood thinner -- the medicine at the center of a lawsuit filed by actor Dennis Quaid over an overdose given to his newborn twins -- were recalled by Baxter International Inc after an increase in reports of adverse reactions in patients.

Baxter said on Friday it is conducting an investigation to identify the cause of the allergy-like reactions, which have included stomach pain, nausea, diarrhea, chest pain and fainting.

Some of the reactions may be life-threatening, the company said. Nine lots represents about 10 percent of the company's annual production of heparin in 1,000 unit vials, which is one of a number of versions of heparin sold by Baxter, said company spokeswoman Erin Gardiner.

The multi-dose heparin vials involved in the recall are for use in dialysis patients and cardiac procedures, rather than the single-dose vials involved in the Quaid case, she said.

Baxter was sued by Quaid and his wife after their newborn twins were sickened by an accidental overdose of the blood thinner while they were patients at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

The twins, who were born via a surrogate mother on November 8, were eventually taken home and were doing well, Quaid's lawyer said in early December.

The suit accuses Baxter of failing to put clear distinguishing labels on certain vials of heparin, and failing to recall the product after three other infants died because of a mix-up.

The Quaids seek at least $50,000 in damages.

Cedars-Sinai apologized at the time for what it called preventable human error. Heparin is used to clean IV tubes and prevent blood clots.

The lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court, Illinois, said both the small and large doses of heparin had similar blue background labels.

(Reporting by Deena Beasley; Editing by Andre Grenon and Carol Bishopric)