PHD warns against using OxyElite Pro

Idaho public health officials learned last week that severe acute hepatitis and sudden liver failure among previously healthy patients may be linked to the dietary supplement OxyElite Pro.

The investigation is ongoing and the data presented are preliminary. Twenty-nine patients are confirmed to have acute hepatitis after using a dietary supplement for weight loss or muscle building during the 60 days prior to the onset of illness.

Twenty-four of the 29 patients reported using OxyElite Pro during the 60 days prior to their illness. There was no other dietary supplement or medication use reported in common by more the two patients.

The start of illness ranged from May 10 to October 3, 2013. Eleven of the patients were hospitalized, two received liver transplants and one died. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are investigating other cases of liver injury nationwide that may be related.

“This is not Hepatitis A, B or C,” said Mary Petty, who manages Panhandle Health District’s epidemiology program. “This is a toxic reaction to a possible component.”

The U.S. Federal Drug Administration (FDA) advises consumers to stop using dietary supplements labeled OxyElite Pro while the investigation is ongoing. OxyElite Pro is sold nationwide in retail stores and over the Internet. USPlabs LLC of Dallas, Texas, distributes OxyElite Pro and has voluntarily ceased distribution as it cooperates with the investigation.

Symptoms of hepatitis include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, clay or grayish bowel movements, joint pain, yellow eyes and jaundice. Anyone experiencing symptoms should seek medical help.

More information is available from the Idaho Bureau of Communicable Disease Prevention, 208-334-5939.