FDA expands glucose test strip warning

The FDA said the strips are for use with various models of LifeScan Inc.'s One Touch brand blood glucose monitors. The test strips are used by people with diabetes to measure their blood glucose levels.

The FDA has expanded the alert issued last week to cover two additional lot numbers.

The counterfeit test strips are identified as:

-- One Touch Basic/Profile (lot numbers 272894A, 2619932, 2606340, and now, additionally, 2615211);

-- One Touch Ultra (lot #2691191 and now also 2691261).

The counterfeit test strips might potentially give incorrect blood glucose values that could result in a patient taking either too much or too little insulin and lead to serious injury or death.

The counterfeit strips were distributed nationwide. In all cases, the bottom of the outer carton containing the counterfeit strips does not display an NDC -- National Drug Code -- number.

Consumers who have the counterfeit strips or don't know the lot number of their test strips should stop using them.

Complete information on identifying the counterfeit strips is available at lifescan.com/company/about/press/counterfeit.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International