Abbott recalling diabetes test strips

These strips are used with Abbott's Precision Xtra, Precision Xceed Pro, MediSense Optium, Optium, Optium EZ and ReliOn Ultima blood glucose monitoring systems. As many as 359 million strips may be affected by the recall. The blood glucose monitoring systems are not affected by this recall.

The test strips being recalled may give falsely low blood glucose results. False results may lead patients to try to raise their blood glucose unnecessarily, or they may fail to treat elevated blood glucose because of a false, low reading. Both scenarios pose risks to a patient's health.

The recall is related to the test strips' inability to absorb enough blood for monitoring. Strips exposed to warm weather or prolonged storage may be more likely to provide a false result.

The test strips were manufactured between January and May 2010 and are sold both in retail and online settings directly to consumers, but are also used in health care facilities.

To determine if you have product being recalled:

• Call Abbott Diabetes Care customer service at 1-800-448-5234 (English) and 1-800-709-7010 (Spanish) to speak with a customer service representative.
• Visit www.precisionoptiuminfo.com to look up test strip lot numbers.