Nursing Homes Need To Pay Attention To Diabetic Patients Developing Fournier's Gangrene

Diabetes Drug Infection Lawsuit News

Most cases of the genital flesh-eating disease go misreported as infection and nursing home neglect when simply monitoring patients would help detect the condition at the earliest possible moment

Tuesday, March 31, 2020 - A diabetic patient that does not wish to inject themselves with insulin may choose to regulate their blood sugar levels by taking sodium-glucose blocker drugs (SGLT2) like FarXiga that remove sugar from the blood through the urine. SGLT2 drugs are linked to patients that develop Fournier's Gangrene, a form of flesh-eating disease of the genitals that is treated with genital amputation or disfigurement. Fournier's Gangrene patients die more often than they are cured as the disease spreads rapidly into the abdomen, destroying the vital organs of the intestines and stomach in its path. Farxica carries the most severe warning and alerts patients of the possibility of developing Fournier's Gangrene and patients are advised to stop taking the drugs upon the onset of the earliest symptoms. "Necrotizing Fasciitis of the Perineum (Fournier's Gangrene): Rare but serious, life-threatening cases have been reported in patients receiving SGLT2 inhibitors including FARXIGA. Diabetes drug infection lawsuits attorneys offer a free consultation for those that think they may have a claim. Cases of Fournier's Gangrene have been reported in females and males. Serious outcomes have included hospitalization, surgeries, and death. Assess patients presenting with pain or tenderness, erythema, swelling in the genital or perineal area, along with fever or malaise. If suspected, institute prompt treatment and discontinue FARXIGA." Diabetes drug infection lawsuit lawyers are helping families understand their rights and offer a free consultation with no obligation to file a lawsuit claim and lawyers work on contingency.

Before identified as Fournier's Gangrene doctors misdiagnosed this condition as necrotizing fasciitis, sepsis, or severe infection. Only when the FDA identified 55 cases from searching their database did they make a connection to those who take drugs to regulate their blood sugar. For most of 2019, Fournier's Gangrene diagnosis took a back seat to the weekly case of flesh-eating disease that made national headlines by people young and old vacationing on an east-coast or Gulf of Mexico beach. Experts were quick to link the outbreak of necrotizing fasciitis with global warming of these waters that were thought to now be a more ideal breeding ground for the Streptococcus bacteria thought to be responsible for starting the flesh-eating. Several elderly diabetic nursing home patients died in cases that had all of the markings of Fournier's Gangrene such as blackening and rotting of the scrotum and penis but instead were diagnosed as necrotizing flesh due to nursing home neglect. Fournier's Gangrene was mostly overlooked until a Turkish study was published in Physician's Weekly and reported on the other day that analyzed the cases of 35 patients that were recently diagnosed with FG. The study concluded that most of the patients with necrotizing fasciitis of the genital region were taking SGLT2 diabetic drugs and that patients had a high mortality rate. Many were admitted to hospital intensive care units where surgical debridement and rerouting of fecal matter (colostomy) surgery was necessary.

More often than not, elderly diabetic patients with a compromised immune system receiving less than optimal nursing home care are at risk to develop Fournier's Gangrene. Most cases go undiagnosed as a simple infection caused by negligent nursing home treatment and while that may be true, family members with diabetic parents and relatives should watch for the earliest signs of Fournier's Gangrene.

The FDA has identified the early warning signs of the disease as being swelling, tenderness and redness of the genitals accompanied by fever, lethargy, and flu-like symptoms. Drugs that have been linked to Fournier's Gangrene include Steglatro (Pro)(ertugliflozin), Invokana (canagliflozin), Jardiance (empagliflozin), and Farxiga (dapagliflozin). Nursing home staff should monitor every patient taking diabetic medications and immediately get the patient to an emergency room as soon as any of the above symptoms present themselves.

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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.