FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) – Students in the medical assistant program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks may have been practicing injections with an unauthorized solution as far back as 2010, according to a school investigation.
The university began its review after learning last month that students had injected themselves and each other with a solution that’s not approved for human or animal use. Roughly 30 students received the solution called Demo-Dose and complained of burning sensations and other symptoms.
The university initially thought the injections were limited to the current academic year. But university spokeswoman Marmian Grimes told the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (http://is.gd/jRTOEY) that officials now believe the solution was used four years ago.
Records from 2010 show Demo-Dose was purchased for the program, and employee statements indicate some students back then complained of “pain, burning and skin irritation at the injection site,’’ according to a UAF summary of the incidents.
“We just reached out to this broader group recently, but we’re getting something back that shows it may have been used before,’’ Grimes said.
Grimes said it appears to be unlikely that improper Demo-Dose injections were made in other years because a different manufacturer was used between 2010 and this school year. It’s unclear why the suppliers changed back this year, she said.
Administrators said they only became aware of the injections after Pocket Nurse, the Pennsylvania-based manufacturer of the solution, sent a letter March 6 about what it called the “alarming call’’ received from a student.
The letter from Pocket Nurse President Anthony Battaglia instructed the university to stop misusing the products.
The university is using an independent lab to determine whether the solution contains substances that would be harmful to humans.
Clinical procedures professor Sherry Wolf was placed on paid leave during the investigation. A dean has said the professor’s expiring contract won’t be renewed.
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