Questions and answers on the recall of the antibiotic Dicillin from Sandoz
Patients who are treated with Dicillin Sandoz 500 mg capsules are instructed to return the medicine to a pharmacy and have it replaced. It is important not to stop treatment but to have the medicine replaced with another antibiotic. The pharmacies have been informed to dispense an alternative medicine.
Questions and answers
What should I do if I am treated with Dicillin Sandoz?
If you are currently on antibiotic treatment or have an antibiotic medicine in your medicine cabinet, you should check if it is Dicillin 500 mg from the company Sandoz. If it is, you should return the package to a pharmacy and have it replaced with another antibiotic medicine.
What should I do if I have been treated with Dicillin Sandoz previously?
If you have completed a course of Dicillin Sandoz 500 mg and have no symptoms of an infection, there is no need to do anything. If you experience symptoms of infection (e.g. bladder infection), your doctor must evaluate if you need to be tested for the presence of the bacterium. Read more on the Danish Health Authority website (in danish only).
How do I know if I have been treated with Dicillin Sandoz?
You can see which medicines you have been prescribed personally in the electronic medication record called Medicinkortet. Medicinkortet is available as an app downloadable from the App Store or Google Play. Medicinkortet can also be accessed online at Sundhed.dk.
Will it cost me anything to replace the medicine?
If you are currently being treated with Dicillin Sandoz, it won't cost you anything to replace the packages with an alternative antibiotic medicine.
What is done to ensure no more Dicillin Sandoz is dispensed?
All pharmacies, hospitals and pharmaceutical wholesalers have been instructed not to dispense the medicine to more patients, and the pharmacies are responsible for collecting the Dicillin packages that patients return.
General questions
What are CPO bacteria?
CPO is an umbrella term for a group of bacteria that are resistant to the antibiotics that are normally used to treat multi-resistant infections. CPO bacteria are not more disease-causing or infectious than other bacteria, and the bacterium can be present in the intestines without causing any illness. But if you become ill due to the bacterium or another infection, it is important that you are treated with an antibiotic having an effect on the bacterium.
Can I pass on the bacterium to others?
No. The risk of passing the bacterium to the surroundings is minimal if it is only present in your intestines and you are not ill. It is only if you are admitted to hospital and need treatment with antibiotics that particular precautions must be taken.
Read more here: CPO/CPE bacteria – Danish Health Authority (information in Danish).