A Nursing Home's Elderly Diabetic Population Most at Risk For Fournier's Gangrene

Diabetes Drug Infection Lawsuit News

Nursing home attendants and staff need to be vigilant in watching for the signs of gangrene affecting their patients that take diabetic medications

Thursday, January 10, 2019 - According to the Mayo Clinic, Gangrene refers to "the death of body tissue due to either a lack of blood flow or a serious bacterial infection. Gangrene commonly affects the extremities, including your toes, fingers, and limbs, but it can also occur in your muscles and internal organs." In addition, Fournier's Gangrene is a condition where gangrene affects the genitals causing them to blacken and require amputation. Certain types of individual, those in nursing homes and on diabetic medication should be especially concerned with developing Fournier's Gangrene. Diabetes drug infection lawyers represent people and their families affected by the diabetes drugs causing Necrotizing fasciitis or Fournier's Gangrene at no cost and no obligation lawsuit case review.

Nursing home staff should be aware of the symptoms of gangrene, in particular, Fournier's Gangrene and should monitor their patients regularly. The elderly especially those in the care of a group home are at particular risk for developing gangrene for a number of reasons. People tend to suffer from decreased blood flow as they get older and the arteries narrow due to a lifetime of poor diet and a lack of exercise. In addition, nursing home patients on anti-diabetes medication need to be watched carefully for the signs that Fournier's Gangrene has developed. In order to treat gangrene effectively, it must be diagnosed in its earliest stage. Gangrene spreads rapidly and can progress to a terminal stage in a matter of days.

It is important for nursing home staff to identify the patients that are currently taking diabetes drugs as the FDA has recently issued a warning that certain diabetic drugs can cause Fournier's gangrene. The diabetes drugs classified as sodium-glucose transporters (SGLT2)s are under the FDA's microscope. According to Medicinenet.com, canagliflozin (Invokana), dapagliflozin (Farxiga), empagliflozin (Jardiance), empagliflozin/linagliptin (Glyxambi), empagliflozin/metformin (Synjardy), and dapagliflozin/metformin (Xigduo XR), can all cause Fournier's Gangrene according to the FDA.

In order to do the best job in caring for the health of elderly nursing home attendants should communicate with diabetic patients daily and inquire about their health needs. Patients should be asked at least once per week if they feel any tingling or numbness in their fingertips or tips of the toes as the nerve endings will be the first to respond to a decrease in blood flow. According to the Mayo Clinic, skin discoloration of the extremities such as the toes, fingers and male genitalia, is the first sign of gangrene. Watch for colors such as red, purple and of course black as an indication of the that the gangrene is spreading. The next stage can be the formation of skin blisters as fluid builds up to fight the infection that is developing. When the blisters break, the fluid will be foul-smelling. Fever and a feeling of being unwell are also signs of gangrene. If left untreated gangrene tissue death will produce an unmistakable foul smell. In the advanced stage, amputation is the only option to prevent the disease from spreading throughout the body.

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Lawyers for Fournier's Gangrene

OnderLaw, LLC is a St. Louis personal injury law firm handling serious injury and death claims across the country. Its mission is the pursuit of justice, no matter how complex the case or strenuous the effort. The Onder Law Firm has represented clients throughout the United States in pharmaceutical and medical device litigation such as Pradaxa, Lexapro and Yasmin/Yaz, where the firm's attorneys held significant leadership roles in the litigation, as well as Actos, DePuy, Risperdal and others. The Onder Law Firm has won more than $300 million in four talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuits in St. Louis. Law firms throughout the nation often seek its experience and expertise on complex litigation.