The popular prescription and over the counter (OTC) heartburn / reflux drugs Nexium, Prevacid and Prilosec and others have been linked an increased risk of Kidney Failure, Kidney Damage, Kidney Injury, Acute Interstital Nephritis, Gastric Cancer, Stomach Cancer and Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). Currently our firm has over 350 PPI- Kidney Injury Cases that we are reviewing with many with lawsuits already filed for our clients.
The PPI Drugs that our law firm are currently accepting kidney injury cases include:
- Nexium, Nexium IV and Nexium 24HR
- Prilosec and Prilosec OTC
- Prevacid, Prevacid OTC and Prevacid 24HR
- Dexilant and Dexilant SoluTab
- Zegerid OTC
- Protonix and Protonix IV
In a new study, it was concluded that long term use of PPI heartburn medications increases kidney failure by 96% and increases the risk of getting chronic kidney disease by 26%. Although the FDA has already required updated warnings of kidney inflammation and acute kidney injury in 2014, in light of this study additional FDA kidney failure warnings and label changes are forthcoming.
Free Kidney Failure Case Review -> Click Here
Nexium, Prevacid and Prilosec & PPI Kidney Injuries & Complications
Earlier studies showed that PPI drug side effects could cause acute kidney injury or an inflammatory kidney disease known as acute interstitial nephritis. More recent studies show a link between these heartburn drugs Prilosec and Nexium and chronic kidney disease, which means the kidneys lose their ability to filter blood effectively and even more recently these PPI meds may significantly increase the risks of gastric cancer / stomach cancer.
PPI drugs most serious complications & side effects include:
- Acute Kidney Injury (AKI)
- Acute Interstitial Nephritis
- Kidney Failure
- Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)
- Kidney-Related Death
- Kidney Damage
- Need for a Kidney Transplant or Removal
- Need for Dialysis
- Stomach Cancer
- Gastric Cancer
Kidney Failure & Stomach Cancer Lawsuit Help
If you or a loved one has taken Nexium, Prevacid or Prilosec and been diagnosed with renal or kidney failure, chronic kidney damage (CKD), kidney disease, interstital nephritis, gastric cancer or stomach cancer, then contact a PPI kidney injury lawyer today for a free case review for a heartburn antacid kidney injury lawsuit. Call us toll free 1-800-883-9858 or fill out the form to the right to contact a member of our PPI Kidney Failure / Cancer Legal Team.
Americans who use over-the-counter heartburn, indigestion or acid reflux drugs Nexium, Prevacid or Prilosec could face up to a 50 per cent higher chance of acute interstitial nephritis, chronic kidney disease and subsequent kidney failure, studies reveal. Victims have a legal right to file a Nexium or Prilosec kidney failure lawsuit for the injuries caused by these drugs.
How do Nexium, Prevacid and Prilosec and other PPI Drugs Work?
As for what Nexium, Prevacid and Prilosec are supposed to do, they are intended to relieve the acid indigestion known as heartburn or what is known as “acid reflux,” a backflow of stomach acid into the esophagus. While these drugs are simple antacids like Tums or Rolaids that help neutralize the acid content, Nexium, Prevacid and Prilosec treat acid reflux and heartburn by reducing the levels of acid produced by the stomach and preventing the production of acid that is produced. They are in a group of drugs called “proton pump inhibitors” or PPI.
In 2013, over 15 million Americans reportedly used Nexium and Prilosec and other popular PPI drugs. Such drugs were initially approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) starting in the 1980s. Since that time, increasing evidence shows that such drugs can raise the danger of many harmful side effects.
PPI drugs such as Prilosec and Nexium work by lowering the body’s ability to absorb minerals, notably magnesium. Such drugs can block the secretion of acids into the stomach, thus lowering the amount of acid in the stomach. In 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that low magnesium levels can be associated with long-term use of PPI drugs.
Studies Show Dangers with Prevacid, Nexium and Prilosec
Studies are showing the dangers of proton pump inhibitors. One study published in JAMA Internal Medicine in January of 2016 reported that persons using PPI drugs have a 20 to 50 percent greater danger of suffering chronic kidney disease (CKD) than persons who don’t use such drugs. Lead study author Dr. Morgan Grams, assistant professor of epidemiology at Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins University, told CBS News the study found “an increasing risk associated with an increasing dose."
Researchers tracked more than 10,000 persons for an average of nearly 14 years and compared users and non-users of PPI drugs. Non-users included persons who alternatively took heartburn medications known as H2 receptor antagonists, including Pepcid, Zantac and trailblazing H2 drug Tagamet.
While the use of PPI drugs was found to be independently associated with a 20 to 50 percent greater danger of chronic kidney disease, the use of H2 receptor antagonists was not independently associated with kidney ailments.Other alternatives to fight indigestion and heartburn include making changes in one’s diet and reducing or stopping alcohol consumption or smoking. “Like all medications, there are risks and benefits,” Grams told the New York Times in assessing the study’s findings on PPI drugs. He said that one approach for patients needing long-term use of PPI drugs is to monitor their kidney function routinely. Also leading the study was Dr. Benjamin Lazarus from Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital in Australia.
More Studies Reveal Kidney Risks & Death with PPI Usage
Still more studies reveal risks associated with PPI drugs. Researchers at the SUNY Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Science in Buffalo, N.Y., tracked over 24,000 persons who developed chronic kidney disease (CKD) between 2001 and 2008. A fourth of the kidney patients had taken a PPI. Such patients had almost two times the danger of premature death. Lead author of the study Dr. Pradeep Arora, a nephrologist and associate professor, said it is “very reasonable to assume that PPIs themselves can cause chronic kidney disease.”
Long-Term Use of the PPI Medications Can Be Dangerous
Studies show that long-term use of PPI drugs can cause kidney failure, and the longer such drugs are used, the greater the danger becomes. Persons taking PPI drugs for one to two years have been shown to have three times greater danger of kidney failure than persons who took the drugs for one month or less. Unlike prescription PPI drugs, over-the-counter (OTC) PPI drugs such as Nexium, Prilosec and Prevacid are sold in low doses and are meant to be used only for two-week courses of treatment, with no more than three such courses of treatment per year. Some also are sold in stronger, prescription-only form. The FDA says consumers, either on their own or due to a healthcare professional’s advice, might take OTC products for periods of time longer than the directions on their labels.
The FDA says healthcare professionals “should be aware of the risk for fracture if they are recommending use of OTC PPIs at higher doses or for longer periods of time than in the OTC PPI label.” One study’s authors said the 15 million Americans using prescription PPI drugs included up to 70 percent receiving prescriptions inappropriately. Also, one-fourth of long-term PPI users could cease taking the drugs without suffering an increase in acid reflux or heartburn.
FDA Warnings for Nexium, Prilosec & Prevacid
The FDA revised the labels for Nexium and Prilosec in late 2014 to include warnings of acute kidney injury as well as kidney inflammation, also known as nephritis. Such side effects can lead to kidney failure and death. The FDA made this move after nonprofit group Public Citizen Inc. sued the FDA in 2011 for not making such a warning. However, the FDA’s warning was limited to standard labeling, rather than a so-called “black box warning.” The FDA’s move also has implications for other PPI drugs, including Prevacid, Aciphex, Protonix, Dexilant and Zegerid, along with any generic substitutes. Both Nexium Class action lawsuits and Prilosec class actions are being filed for the thousands of injured consumers of these OTC products.
Who Makes PPI Drugs?
The manufacturers of these billion dollar a year heart burn remedies are:
Nexium -- approved by the FDA in 2001 -- is sold by Pfizer Inc. Pfizer also is known for defective antidepressant drugs which can lead to birth defects. Pfizer also paid $60 million to the U.S. government in 2012 to settle bribery allegations. (Nexium first was made and sold by AstraZeneca, from which Pfizer bought the rights in 2012.)
Prilosec -- approved by the FDA in 2003 -- is sold by Procter & Gamble. That company has faced lawsuits for a variety of its products, including bone-loss drug Actonel. Procter & Gamble also was fined by the European Commission for its participation in a price-fixing cartel.
Prevacid -- approved in prescription form by the FDA in 1995 -- is sold by Takeda Pharmaceuticals, also known for defective Type 2 diabetes drug Actos, for which it settled 9,000 bladder cancer lawsuits in 2015 by paying out $2.4 billion to victims. Non-prescription or over-the-counter Prevacid24HR, from Novartis, was FDA-approved in 2009.
Such PPI drugs are enormous sellers. Nexium has had up to $6 billion in annual sales, or almost two-thirds of the yearly $9.5 billion Americans spend on heartburn medications.
