FDA Warning: Acute Kidney Injury Possible From Type 2 Diabetes Medications
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration just announced that certain commonly prescribed type 2 diabetes medications can cause acute kidney injuries. The safety announcement covers the drugs canagliflozin and dapagliflozin, with the brand names Invokana and Farxiga, respectively. These two medications are of the class of drugs known as sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors and are used in combination with diet and exercise to lower type 2 diabetes patient’s blood sugar. Between October 2014 and September 2015, 1.5 million patients received a prescription for one of these drugs or a medication containing one of these drugs, the FDA stated. If you are one of the people who now suffers from a kidney injury due to canagliflozin or dapagliflozin, contact the Florida defective drug attorneys at Oldham & Smith.
Leading to Acute Kidney Injury
Canagliflozin and dapagliflozin work by telling the kidneys to remove sugar from the body through the urine. The FDA found this can lead to dangerous levels of waste building up in the body and kidney injury or failure. According to the Mayo Clinic, acute kidney failure is when the kidney can no long filter waste out of a person’s blood. Substances build up in the body and alter the body’s necessary chemistry. It can develop in days or hours. It may or may not be reversible.
The FDA stated between March 2013 and October 2015, there were 101 confirmed cases of acute kidney injury requiring hospitalization and treatment related to canagliflozin and dapagliflozin. The administration also stated this figure is probably low because it only includes cases reported to the FDA.
Many of the patients showed improvement once they stopped taking the medication, but not all cases were fully reversible.
Signs of Kidney Injury
Patients taking canagliflozin and dapagliflozin should not stop taking their medication. Instead, they should speak with their doctors and be on the lookout for signs of any problem, including:
Decreased urine
Fluid retention
Swelling in legs, ankles, feet
Fatigue
Shortness of breath
Confusion
Nausea
Chest pain
Seizures
Coma
Contact a Tavares Defective Drug Attorney
If you or a loved one suffered a kidney injury you were never warned about, you should speak with the experienced attorneys at Oldham & Smith. A kidney injury can require expensive hospitalization and treatment. If your injury was not reversible, this can alter your quality of life and increase your long-term medical expenses. You may have the right to recover based on these injuries.
