BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) has initiated a nationwide recall for specific lots of its BD® Intraosseous Vascular Access System Needle Sets. The recall follows reports of users experiencing difficulty removing the obturator (stylet) after the needle set's placement, a critical issue that has been linked to serious injuries and four deaths.
The company identified that the difficulty may arise if the drill is not pulled straight back during insertion or if the obturator is incorrectly rotated during removal. Affected products were manufactured with out-of-tolerance dimensions and distributed between September 30, 2024, and June 12, 2026. This recall does not impact the BD® Intraosseous Powered Driver.
Failure to remove the obturator can delay therapy initiation, potentially leading to serious injury or death, especially for critically ill patients requiring urgent vascular access, such as those experiencing out-of-hospital cardiac arrest or severe trauma. BD has received 75 complaints and 45 serious injury reports through June 2026, with four reported deaths occurring during resuscitation efforts where stylet removal was problematic.