Diabetic Patients and Others Are At Risk For Fournier's Gangrene

Knowing to check for Fournier's Gangrene symptoms can increase the disease's survival rate

Tuesday, January 29, 2019 - Fournier's Gangrene is a rare condition, a flesh-eating disease of the genital region that affects mostly men and mostly diabetic patients around 55 years old or older. The FDA has traced certain anti-diabetic drugs as being the cause of 12 and possibly a 13th and 14th case of the disease. Diabetics taking Invokana and other SGLT2 blocker drugs are at the greatest risk for Fournier's, however, according to Web MD, the disease has also been linked to alcoholism, genital trauma, injecting steroids, chemotherapy, HIV, obesity, and Cirrhosis of the liver. Recently, medical neglect has been suspected on the part of a Florida nursing home staff where their patient, an elderly, military vet died of symptoms similar to Fournier's. Also, an Indian man died in a British hospital from Fournier's Gangrene that developed from an infection caused by the insertion of a catheter.

Pain, redness, and swelling of the genital area are the first signs of Fournier's. These innocuous signals can rapidly escalate into the genital flesh-eating disease accompanied by fever and the unmistakable smell of death, rotting flesh. If there is one disease on the planet that cannot be misdiagnosed as anything else, it is full-blown Fournier's Gangrene. National Fournier gangrene attorneys representing people harmed by Necrotizing Fasciitis due to diabetes drugs.

In treating Fournier's Gangrene, doctors will typically cut away the rotting tissue as well as a good portion of healthy tissue not unlike a firefighter setting a backfire in order to stop a wildfire from spreading. The wound is left open to let the infection drain and is packed with full-spectrum antibiotics that are also given intravenously. A typically hospital stay for the 50% of Fournier's patients that survive Fournier's Gangrene is around three months. If all goes well the patient will return to the hospital for genital reconstructive surgery. Most of Fournier's patients are required to use a colostomy bag to remove feces and a catheter to remove urine for the remainder of their lives.

Web MD, as well as the US FDA, recommend that diabetic patients using the following drugs report immediately to their physician: canagliflozin (Invokana), dapagliflozin (Farxiga), empagliflozin (Jardiance), empagliflozin/linagliptin (Glyxambi), empagliflozin/metformin (Synjardy), and dapagliflozin/metformin (Xigduo XR). The FDA warns that these drugs are categorically linked to the previously-mentioned cases of Fournier's Gangrene. They also recommend that diabetic patients check their genitals for cracks in the skin, swelling, and drainage. As with every disease, losing weight is normally recommended if appropriate and smokers should stop smoking at once. Web MD also suggests washing the genitals with soap and water and keeping them as dry as possible in order to prevent bacteria from entering and causing an infection. Fournier's Gangrene is not suspected to be a sexually transmitted disease, however, any break in the skin can allow the bacteria to enter and cause an infection.

Nursing homes care for many elderly diabetic patients susceptible to Fournier's Gangrene. People with diabetic loved ones in nursing home care are urged to visit and take note of the type of diabetic medication that they taking and to consult the list above list of drugs that can cause Fournier's Gangrene.

More Recent Diabetes Drug Infection Lawsuit News:

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.