AxSYM HBsAg Reagent Pack; Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, IL 60064; AxSYM HBsAg is a microparticle enzyme immunoassay (MEIA) intended for the qualitative detection of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in neonatal serum, and adult and pediatric serum (including serum collected in serum separator tubes) or plasma (collected in potassium EDTA, sodium citrate, sodium heparin, lithium heparin, or plasma separator tubes); list 9B01-20;

Defective caps: Customers have observed reagent bottles not opening appropriately, which could lead to a probe crash on the instrument.

Consignees were sent a Product Correction-Immediate Action Required letter on 1/19/09. The letter informed users of the reported increased frequency of probe crashes when using the affected reagent pack lots and provided instructions on what actions the laboratory can take if they have a defective reagent pack or experience a probe crash with their system. Users need to inspect each reagent pack for broken or improperly sealed caps; manually open each bottle to ensure the flipper bar raises the reagent cap correctly; close each flipper bar prior to loading reagent pack on instrument; and discard any reagent packs that do not open properly. If a probe crash is observed prior to testing samples again, a probe crash recovery must be performed following the procedure in the Operations Manual. A copy of the communication needs to be provided to any laboratory that you may have forwarded affected lots to. Users were requested to return a customer reply letter acknowledging receipt and understanding of the letter. For additional information, contact Abbott Labs at 1-877-4ABBOTT.