Meningitis outbreak prompts scrutiny of custom-mixed medications

By LAUREN GENTILE
Capital News Service
LANSING – Custom-mixed medicines, like the steroids shots that sparked the recent meningitis outbreak, are under scrutiny. These medicines can be made in private and hospital pharmacies and are used to treat a variety of ailments from bronchitis symptoms to vision loss, said Larry Wagenknecht, chief executive officer of the Michigan Pharmacists Association. “This type of mixing happens every day, every minute, in hospitals, and as long as all precautions of sterilization take place, no one should worry,” Wagenknecht said. Custom drugs must go through many sterilization processes, he said. “Sterilization is a key component when mixing drugs and shipping them.