Trampolines Recalled by Sportspower Limited Due to Fall Hazard; Sold Exclusively at Walmart

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.

Name of Product: Sportspower BouncePro 14′ Trampolines

Units: About 92,000

Importer: Wal-Mart Stores Inc., of Bentonville, Ark.

Manufacturer: Sportspower Limited, of Hong Kong, China

Hazard: The netting surrounding these trampolines can break, allowing children to fall through the netting and be injured.

Incidents/Injuries: Sportspower has received 17 reports of the net breaking, resulting in 11 injuries including broken bones, back and neck injuries, and contusions.

Description: The recall involves the Sportspower BouncePro 14’ Trampolines with brown mesh netting. UPC codes 68706404210, and 68706404244 are printed on the trampoline box. “Sportspower BouncePro 14” and “TR-14-63-A” are printed on a plate on the leg of the trampoline frame. The trampolines are surrounded by brown netting measuring about 6 feet high on the perimeter of the trampoline. The netting is designed to contain individuals bouncing on the trampoline.

Sold exclusively at: Walmart stores nationwide from February 2009 through February 2012 for about $275.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should stop using the trampolines immediately and contact Sportspower to receive replacement black netting for the trampoline.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Sportspower’s customer service hotline toll-free at (888)-965-0565 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s website at http://www.sportspowerltd.net/recall-bouncepro-14ft.html, or send an e-mail to Sportspower at customerservice@sportspowerltd.net

Pradaxa linked to unexpectedly high number of fatal bleeding incidents

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common type of persistent irregular heartbeat. Patients who suffer from this particular condition face a greatly increased risk of stroke. When the heart doesn’t beat strongly and regularly, there is a greater likelihood that a blood clot can develop and travel to the brain, which in turn results in a stroke. Often, patients with AF use medications like Pradaxa or warfarin to counter this risk. The anticoagulant drugs act as blood thinners to prevent clots from forming. Between obtaining FDA approval in October of 2010 and August of 2011, nearly 1.1 million Pradaxa prescriptions were filled in the United States.

But the use of blood thinners like Pradaxa carries its own risk: even a minor scrape or injury can quickly result in excessive and uncontrolled hemorrhaging. This was apparently known at the time of FDA approval, and studies even showed bleeding events occurred at the same rate for Pradaxa as compared to warfarin. But after Pradaxa went on the market, there has been higher rate of reported bleeding incidents than expected. The FDA continues to investigate why that is the case.

In the meantime, claims against the maker of the anticoagulant drug Pradaxa are starting to make their way into the court system. This last month, three plaintiffs filed suit in the United States against the German company that makes the drug, Boehringer Ingelheim. That company admits that in just one year of being on the market, Pradaxa was linked to 260 cases of fatal bleeding.

While the FDA investigation and litigation moves forward, patients are advised not to stop taking the drug without consulting their physician. But at the same time, patients need to be keenly aware of any adverse effects that indicate a bleeding problem:

• unusual bleeding from the gums
• nose bleeding that happens often
• menstrual or vaginal bleeding that is heavier than normal
• bleeding that is severe or you cannot control
• pink or brown urine
• red or black stools (looks like tar)
• bruises that happen without a known cause or that get larger
• coughing up blood or blood clots
• vomiting blood or vomit that looks like coffee grounds.