Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

The elderly and those with certain chronic health conditions are at greater risk of suffering from complications following colonoscopies, according to a study conducted by researchers from National Cancer Institute and the University of North Carolina. The study, which was published last month in the Annals of Internal Medicine, looked at data from 53,220 Medicare beneficiaries aged 66 to 95 who underwent colonoscopy between 2001 and 2005.

Read the rest of this entry »

On December 11, 2008, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a safety alert calling for a black box warning on prescription oral sodium phosphate (OSP) products used to prepare the bowel prior to colonoscopies following reports of a serious form of kidney injury in patients who had taken OSP products.

The black box warning fell on Salix  Pharmaceuticals’ prescription OSP brands Visicol and Osmo Prep, and serious warning was placed on over-the-counter OSP products such as Fleet Phospho-soda and Fleet Accu-Prep. The serious adverse event that was occurring in patients repeatedly over the years was a serious form of kidney injury now known as acute phosphate nephropathy.

Read the rest of this entry »

A 62-year-old woman preparing for a colonoscopy followed her doctor’s orders and took a large dose of an oral sodium phosphate (OSP) solution to cleanse her bowel before the procedure. It wasn’t an unusual order. Many physicians either prescribe OSP pills or solutions for their patients or recommend over-the-counter OSP products. However, the patient’s kidneys began to fail. Doctors were able to partially resolve the problem, but the woman was left with stage 4 chronic kidney disease.

Read the rest of this entry »

When the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a black box warning on prescription oral sodium phosphates (OSP) Visicol and Osmo Prep, medications used to clear the bowel before colonoscopies and other procedures, C.B. Fleet also removed its over-the-counter OSP solutions from store shelves. While safe when used in low doses as a laxative, those products, known over-the-counter by such brand names as Fleet Phospho-soda and Fleet Accu-Prep, when used in higher doses for bowel cleansing, have been linked to a serious form kidney injury called acute phosphate nephropathy. Despite the warnings issued here in the U.S., the products are still widely available in countries like Jamaica.

Read the rest of this entry »

After years of serious adverse events following the use of a type of solution used to clear the bowel before colonoscopies, Oral sodium phosphates (OSP), the products are no longer available over-the-counter and the ones available by prescription, known by the brand names Visicol and Osmo Prep, now carry a black box warning that a serious form of kidney injury has been associated with the use of the products.

Even if patients aren’t diagnosed with the type of renal failure associated with OSP use, known as Acute Phosphate Nephropathy, they may still be at risk from conditions due to electrolyte abnormalities, according to an article, Is Bowel Preparation Before Colonoscopy a Risky Business for the Kidney? published in MedScape CME.

Read the rest of this entry »

Two studies in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN) suggest that at least 50 percent of patients undergoing a screening colonoscopy receive oral sodium phosphates (OSP) to prep their bowel. Which means as many as 7 million of the 14 million Americans who have regular screenings each year are at risk for a serious kidney injury that has been associated with the use of OSP. The article estimates that as many as 1,400 to 7,000 people could be injured each year by the product used routinely for bowel clearing.

Read the rest of this entry »

Both men and women age 50 and older, and any one regardless of age who experiences problems such as blood in the stool, intestinal pain, internal hemorrhoids, should have a colonoscopy to screen for colon cancer. If caught early, colon cancer is curable, making regular screenings imperative.

Read the rest of this entry »

Some hospitals across the country are choosing an alternative method of prepping the bowel before colonoscopies that does not require patients to drink a gallon of liquid laxatives the day before the procedure, according to EndoNurse. The new procedure is called colon hydrotherapy and involves infusing the colon with warm, filtered, chemical-free water to effectively clear it.

Read the rest of this entry »

Some people who suffer from kidney problems may not realize their condition may be linked to products used to cleanse the bowel before medical procedures like colonoscopies, says Ben Locklar, shareholder with Beasley Allen Law Firm. It wasn’t until around 2005 that doctors began making the connection between oral sodium phosphate (OSP) products and a serious kidney injury known as acute phosphate nephropathy. Since then, more and more cases have been reported and hundreds of lawsuits have ensued.

Read the rest of this entry »

An estimated 106,100 people will be diagnosed with colon cancer and 40,870 with rectal cancer this year, according to the American Cancer Society. It is the second leading cause of cancer-related death. But the good news is that the death rate is dropping. One reason is that regular screenings have allowed doctors to find more colorectal cancers sooner, thus making the disease easier to cure.

Read the rest of this entry »