Colonoscopies & Kidney Failure
The Relationship Between Colonoscopy and Kidney Failure
A colonoscopy is an extremely effective medical test for early detection of certain types of cancer. As we age, our doctors recommend that we have colonoscopies more frequently, for that screening purpose.
As part of preparing for a colonoscopy, your doctor will ask you to complete a bowel-cleansing regimen at home. Your physician or gastroenterologist may recommend a particular over-the-counter bowel-cleansing product or may just recommend a particular type of product.
Some Bowel Cleansers Are Safer Than Others
In recent years, medical evidence has pointed to a connection between some bowel-cleansing products used before colonoscopy and an increased rate of acute kidney failure.
The potentially dangerous category of bowel-cleansing products is known as "oral sodium phosphate solution," or OSPS. A 2004 study by a medical doctor at Columbia University Medical School reported that a group of patients all suffered acute kidney failure after colonoscopy, even though all the patients had normal kidney function before the colonoscopy. The study concluded that using the OSPS led to creation of calcium-phosphate crystals in the kidneys in some patients, which led to kidney injury, which has been named acute phosphate nephropathy or nephrocalcinosis.
Read more about the risk factors for kidney failure following colonoscopy, and about the early symptoms of kidney failure.
If you are scheduled for a colonoscopy but concerned about the risk of kidney failure, you should not avoid the colonoscopy. Talk to your doctor about your concerns. Your doctor can perform a screening procedure before the colonoscopy to help determine what type of bowel-cleansing product will be safe for you to use.
Lawsuits to Recover Financial Compensation After Illness Caused by a Dangerous Drug
Drug companies have a legal duty to warn patients and healthcare providers about serious negative side effects that it knows about, or should know about. Evidence shows that C.B. Fleet, Co., Inc. - the maker of the popular Fleet Phospho-soda - had information about the link between Fleet Phospho-soda (when used in a double dose as a bowel cleanser before colonoscopy) and acute kidney failure.
Jeffrey D. DeCarlo, P.A. ∙ Miami, Florida Successful Settlements on Behalf of Injured People
I was the first attorney in Florida to file a lawsuit against C.B. Fleet, Co., Inc. on behalf of a client who suffered acute kidney failure after using Phospho-soda as a bowel cleanser. Since that time, I have resolved numerous lawsuits against the company.
Contact the Law Offices of Jeffrey D. DeCarlo, P.A.
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I am currently pursuing cases involving Fleet Phospho-soda, OsmoPrep, Visicol, Avandia, Yaz, Yasmin, Ocella, Byetta, Reglan, Gardasil and other defective pharmaceutical products nationwide, and accepting new cases in all 50 states.
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