More than 80,000 packs of a commonly used antidepressant have been recalled across the UK after a patient discovered the wrong medicine inside their sealed packaging.

The patient, who had been prescribed Sertraline 100mg film-coated tablets, found a strip of Citalopram 40mg film-coated tablets – another antidepressant – within the carton.

Following this discovery, UK-based pharmaceutical company Amarox initiated a “precautionary recall ” of a particular batch of Sertraline, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said.

The agency said that both medications are manufactured by the same company at the same facility.

The error "appears to have occurred during secondary packaging of the blister strips into the cartons", it said.

Patients who believe they have already taken any Citalopram 40mg tablets by mistake, or are experiencing side effects, should seek medical advice immediately.

Packs of the widely used antidepressant Sertraline (MChromatique/Wikimedia Commons)

The MHRA said…