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Previous Volume 359:2732-2734 December 18, 2008 Number 25 Next

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To the Editor: The recent "heparin scandal" resulted from the use of contaminated heparin that caused serious adverse events including death.¹ The contaminant was identified as synthetically oversulfated chondroitin sulfate (OSCS).² Despite the missing final proof of a cause-and-effect relationship, OSCS was shown to have pharmacologic effects that may contribute to the observed allergic-type reactions.³ Furthermore, OSCS is suspected to be responsible for an observed increased incidence of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia type 2.⁴ Revised monographs about heparin in U.S. and European pharmacopeias now include two mandatory tests to identify OSCS — nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and capillary electrophoresis. However, these methods . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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