Missouri Sodiuim Phosphate Attorneys
Oral Sodium Phosphate/Fleet
Patients use these products, including Fleet Phospho-soda and Fleet enemas, to clean the intestines before certain medical procedures (colonoscopy). Unbeknownst to prescribing doctors and patients, these OSP medications are causing severe kidney damage. The onset of kidney damage has not been consistent – some cases reveal damage occurring within several hours of use and other cases show a delay of up to 21 days after use.
In addition to the prescription medications, the FDA has discovered dangers associated with over-the-counter OSP products, such as Fleet Phospho-soda. While kidney damage has not been linked to these products when used at a lower dose for laxative use, when used for bowel cleansing, these products have the same risks as prescription OSP products, according to the FDA.
The risk of this kidney damage has been known by the manufacturers since 2006. Despite this fact, many manufacturers, including C.B. Fleet, continue to refuse to warn of this danger. In 2006, the FDA issued a Science Paper and a Healthcare Professional sheet describing the risks associated with the use of OSP products for bowel cleansing. Since the release of that report, the FDA has received reports of 20 unique cases of kidney injury associated with the use of OsmoPrep, an OSP medication.
In December 2008, the FDA announced it was requiring the manufacturers to include a Black Box warning to the OSP product labels. In addition to this warning, the FDA also required the manufacturers of prescription OSPs to develop a plan to alert patients to the risk of acute kidney injury associated with the use of these products and to conduct further research to investigate into these claims of kidney damage.
After the findings by the FDA and the forced internal research, in December 2008, Fleet was recalled. The manufacturer claims that the Fleet Phospho-soda recall was issued to address the FDA's determination that OSPs used for bowel preparation prior to medical procedures such as colonoscopy should only be available by prescription. Only after the FDA suggested that doctors refrain from directing their patients to use these over-the-counter products for bowel cleansing, C.B. Fleet requested that consumers not purchase these products for that purpose.
The veteran pharmaceutical liability lawyers at Page Law have experience dealing with large drug companies that frequently put profits ahead of safety for their products. If you have suffered from kidney damage or other adverse effects from Fleet or other oral sodium phosphate products, contact the Missouri kidney damage attorneys at our personal injury law firm for a free consultation.
