A DRUG used to stabilise patients suffering a sharp drop in blood pressure has been withdrawn from Scottish hospitals, nearly four months after a study revealed it could be linked to hundreds of unnecessary deaths in the UK every year.
Doctors have been told to stop using hydroxyethyl starch IV drips immediately, following advice from health regulators.
Health boards were given the advice on Thursday, despite a study published in February revealing it could be causing about 250 unnecessary deaths a year in the UK.
The Scottish Government has now been urged to launch an urgent investigation into how many Scots may have needlessly died.
Scottish Conservative health spokesman Jackson Carlaw said: "We need to find out exactly who has been given it and how many deaths may be linked."
The drips are used for treatment and prevention of low blood volume as well as for maintenance of circulation during surgical procedures. Burn and trauma victims, car crash victims and patients who are undergoing surgical procedures, are among those who are given the fluid.
German-based drugs giants B Braun and Fresenius Kabi manufacture the drips. A spokesman for Fresenius Kabi said it was appealing the ruling.
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