Ind. hospital: 560 patients got recalled back meds

INDIANAPOLIS (AP/WISH) — Officials at an Evansville hospital say about 560 patients received injections of a recalled back pain medication that's been tied to an outbreak of a rare form of meningitis.

The Indiana State Department of Health said the following facilities received distributions of the medication:

• Wellspring, Columbus
• Ambulatory Care Center, Evansville
• Fort Wayne Physical Medicine, Fort Wayne
• OSMC Outpatient Surgery Center, Elkhart
• South Bend Clinic, South Bend
• Union Hospital, Terre Haute

St. Mary's Health spokeswoman Laura Forbes says 10 of the roughly 250 of those patients the hospital has contacted so far are experiencing symptoms that could be consistent with fungal meningitis.

Forbes says the hospital is taking the situation "very seriously" and is trying to contact the remaining patients.

She says the patients received the spinal injections of the steroid made by Framingham, Mass.-based New England Compounding Center between July 1 and Sept. 28 at Surgicare Cross Pointe, an outpatient surgery clinic in Evansville.

Forbes says between 50 and 60 of the 560 patients had received multiple injections of the drug.