Medical device recalls have declined 39% for the third quarter, settling at 167, the lowest quarter the US has seen since the fourth quarter of 2011, according to a new Stericycle Expert Solutions report.
Recalled units were up, however, rising 1% to 68 million which positioned it higher than 16 of the last 19 quarters, according to the report.
Sterilization dominated recalled units over the quarter, with 89.4% of recalled units being due to sterility issues, keeping it as the top cause for three consecutive quarters, according to Expert Solutions.
The average class 1 units recalled per quarter are up for 2017, at 615,919 for the year, higher than the 310,158 average in 2016 and 276,233 in 2015.
A total of 56% of medical device recalls in the US were nationwide, with the top overall causes for recalls being software issues at 24.6%, quality issues at 17.4%, mislabeling issues at 14.4% and manufacturing defects at 9.6%, according to the report.
In August, Expert Solutions reported that medical device recalls at the Class I level were up 88% for the second quarter of 2017, and the major culprit was quality issues involving device part malfunctioning.