Expired Drugs and Medical Materials
Purpose
The purpose of this document is to define the policy regarding the acceptable use of expired medical materials.
Background
Per the USDA Animal Welfare Act Policy 3, Veterinary Care, the use of expired drugs (anesthetics, analgesics, euthanasia drugs, and antibiotics), is not acceptable veterinary care. For acute terminal procedures, APHIS does not oppose the use of expired medical materials (sutures, staples, etc…) if their use does not adversely affect the animal’s well-being or compromise the validity of the scientific study.
Policy
It is the IACUC policy to apply the above standards to all vertebrate research and teaching animals covered under UC Davis Animal Care and Use Protocols, regardless of whether or not they are covered under the USDA Animal Welfare Act.
To further clarify;
- Expired anesthetics, analgesics, euthanasia solutions, emergencies drugs, and antibiotics cannot be used under any circumstance.
- Expired drugs should be labeled, segregated, and arrangements should be made for timely and proper disposal of the expired drugs.
- Expired medical materials (sutures/staples, saline, etc…) may be used on acute terminal studies if their use does not adversely affect the animal’s well-being or compromise the validity of the scientific study.
- The facility must either dispose of all such material or segregate them in an appropriately labeled, physically separate location from non-expired medical materials.
If you have questions about an expired medical material and its use, please contact Campus Veterinary Services at (530) 752-0514 or lahc@ucdavis.edu.
References
- AWA Section 13
- APHIS Animal Care Resource Guide Policy #3, issue date July 17, 2007
Approved by IACUC: 03/19/2009