Fleet Attorney » kidney failure

New test can identify kidney injury earlier

Jennifer Walker-Journey — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:57:26 +0000

Each year, more than 13 million patients suffer from acute kidney injury, of which more than 30 percent die. The prevalence of kidney injury has risen to epidemic proportions. Over the past 60 years, little progress has been made to improve the statistics of this condition. But Denmark-based company BioPorto Diagnostics has developed a groundbreaking test called NGAL that can diagnose acute kidney injury early, adding valuable time for doctors to take proactive steps at an early stage that will prevent kidney injury from turning into the very dangerous state of kidney failure.

Kidney injury is a devastating disorder that often occurs as a complication of other serious illnesses and sometimes even treatments. For example, one form of kidney injury known as acute phosphate nephropathy, has been associated with the use of oral sodium phosphates (OSP), a type of laxative often given to patients to cleanse the bowel prior to colonoscopies. Incidents of the injury have skyrocketed in the past decade as more patients have regular colon screenings.

The new test will enable doctors to predict a patient’s outcome in a matter of hours as opposed to one to three days for existing methods of testing for kidney injury.

“The icing on the cake is that the NGAL test is designed to be used on apparatus that already exists in laboratories and hospitals. In this way we have secured that the test will be affordable and readily available to doctors worldwide,” says Thea Olesen, CEO of BioPorto.

The test will be presented this month at ASN Renal Week in San Diego, the yearly meeting point for kidney specialists from all over the world.

SOURCE: Fleet Attorney › New test can identify kidney injury earlier

Second bowel cleansing recommended for colonoscopies

Jennifer Walker-Journey — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:44:18 +0000

Many physicians who perform colonoscopies are beginning to ask their patient for a second cleansing of the bowel in the wee hours before their procedures to ensure the bowel is clean and reduce the need for a redo.

During a colonoscopy, a doctor inserts a long tube with a camera on the end through the rectum and the intestines to look for polyps, signs of early colon cancer. The procedure can virtually remove the risk of colon cancer if detected early, making regular colon screenings a must for individuals age 50 and older and earlier for those with a family history or who are showing signs of colon cancer.

The second bowel cleaning some physicians recommend prior to a colonoscopy follows the day-before rigors of drinking a laxative solution or taking a pill that purges the bowels of its contents. Doctors have found that even after the bowel has been prepped the day before and no more food consumed, sometimes a collection of dead cells, bacterial secretions, mucus, bile and other debris collect in the bowels during the night and can interfere with the physician’s view during the procedure. The second cleansing is usually preformed about five hours before the colonoscopy is scheduled, requiring some patients to wake extra early to “get moving.”

But one word of caution about the bowel cleansing process. Take a close look at the laxative your are prescribed or told to purchase over-the-counter by your doctor. A type of laxative often used to cleanse the bowel before colonoscopies, called oral sodium phosphates, or OSPs, have been linked to serious kidney injury. In some cases, the injury has resulted in kidney failure. The finding has resulted in a black box warning on prescription brands of OSPs, such as Visicol and Osmo Prep, and the removal of over-the-counter Fleet OSPs. If you have experienced kidney injury days, weeks or even months after taking OSP products to cleanse the bowel, you may have a claim against the manufacturer.

Source: Boston.com

SOURCE: Fleet Attorney › Second bowel cleansing recommended for colonoscopies

Lawsuits mount against maker of over-the-counter bowel cleanser

Jennifer Walker-Journey — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 12:00:41 +0000

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) black box warning on oral sodium phosphates (OSPs) came late last year, but as early as 2003, doctors were beginning to make the link between OSP pills and solutions used to clear the bowel before colonoscopies and serious and permanent kidney injuries. As more and more reports of kidney damage and even complete kidney failure began to pour in to the FDA, the agency finally issued a mild warning in 2005. The black box warning on prescription OSP products would come three years later, after 21 more reports of serious kidney injuries. Soon after that FDA warning, C.B. Fleet quickly pulled its over-the-counter OSP products off the market.

OSP products include the prescription brands Visicol and Osmo Prep, as well as OTC brands including Fleet Phospha-soda. Over-the-counter OSP products are considered safe if used in low doses to treat constipation. But Fleet began marketing the product in higher doses as a bowel cleanser, which prompted the same risk of kidney damage and the form of kidney injury known as acute phosphate nephropathy.

OSPs work by pulling fluid from the body and out the colon, causing a laxative effect. While the body is purging itself of fluids, calcium-phosphate crystals can form in the kidneys, blocking the renal tubes. Symptoms of OSP-related kidney damage can come immediately or take as long as a few days or few weeks to surface. These symptoms include lethargy, drowsiness, decreased urine output, and swelling of the legs, ankles and feet. Often, the diagnosis isn’t immediately linked to use of OSP.

To date, more than 50 lawsuits have been filed against Fleet by people who suffered kidney injury from use of OSPs, including one recently settled in Virginia in which the lone plaintiff was awarded $10 million.

SOURCE: Fleet Attorney › Lawsuits mount against maker of over-the-counter bowel cleanser