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Prescription drugs Trazorel and Cesamet recalled over label errors

Wednesday, October 21, 2009 | 11:36 AM ET

The mislabelling of a bottle of drugs has prompted Health Canada to issue an advisory warning patients to check their prescriptions of Trazorel and Cesamet.

The agency said Tuesday that Montreal-based Valeant Canada Ltd. has received a report of one bottle in a shipment of the anti-nausea medication Cesamet one-milligram capsules that was mislabelled as the antidepressant Trazorel in 50-mg tablets. The company is working with distributors and pharmacists to recall the affected products.

Patients prescribed these drugs should immediately check their bottles to ensure that they contain the correct medication, the agency advised.

Trazorel 50 mg comes in round, peach-coloured tablets engraved with ICN T21. Cesamet 1 mg comes in blue and white capsules with the number 3101 imprinted on the white part of the capsule.

Patients with the wrong pills in their bottles should contact their health-care provider immediately and return the medication to their pharmacist.

Trazorel (trazodone hydrochloride) is prescribed to treat depression but is sometimes used to induce sleep. A patient taking Cesamet instead of Trazorel could expect to experience a worsening of his or her depression.

Cesamet (the brand name for the drug nabilone) is used to treat nausea associated with chemotherapy. Patients who take Trazorel instead of Cesamet would continue to experience nausea and vomiting.

Trazorel is sold primarily in Saskatchewan while Cesamet is sold across the country, the company said.

Consumers requiring more information about this advisory can contact Health Canada's public inquiries line at (613) 957-2991, or toll free at 1-866-225-0709.

Or go to http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/media/advisories-avis/_2009/2009_170-eng.php

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