An error in labelling some tablets for high blood pressure has resulted in a number of patients being given a higher dose of medication than was intended.
The error was discovered when the Elan Corporation, which manufactures the drugs in Athlone, was contacted by a patient in the UK who noticed a repeat prescription of his tablets looked different to what he was used to.
Elan brought the mistake to the attention of the Irish Medicines Board (IMB) and yesterday the IMB placed advertisements in newspapers advising patients to return any unused portion of the affected medicine to their pharmacist for checking and, if necessary, replacement.
The tablets wrongly labelled were blister packs of Dilzem XL 240 mg capsules which are prescribed to treat angina and high blood pressure.
Mr Sunny Uberoi, spokesman for Elan, said the tablets were not labelled by Elan. He added that just 60 cartons from a batch of 33,000 were affected.
"The error relates to the strength of the capsules as printed on the blister strips in a number of packs. This means that some patients might receive a higher dose than that prescribed," the IMB said.
Only patients prescribed the capsules, in either 240 mg or 180 mg strength, on or after August 22nd 2002, need to have their medication checked.
An IMB spokeswoman said too high a dose of the medication would lead to a drop in blood pressure, which could cause a person to feel dizzy or faint. However, the IMB has not received any reports of this happening. It is not known how many people in the State are taking the medication but the IMB said the numbers were not large.
Patients with concerns can contact Elan at 1800 923526, a freephone number.