Kidney Injury Lawsuit Filed Against Makers of Prevacid, Prilosec and Nexium

The side effects of Nexium, Prilosec and Prevacid allegedly caused a Louisiana woman to suffer a serious kidney injury, according to allegations raised in a recent product liability lawsuit brought against the makers of the popular heartburn drugs. 

Denise Crandell filed a complaint (PDF) last week in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, indicating that AstraZeneca, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, and Procter & Gamble failed to adequately warn consumers or the medical community about the risk of kidney injury from Nexium, Prilosec, Prevacid and other proton pump inhibitors (PPI).

According to the lawsuit, Crandell took a number of different heartburn and acid reflux drugs between 2013 and 2016, including Nexium, Prilosec and Prevacid, which allegedly caused serious injuries to her kidneys.

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In recent years, a number of independent studies have raised serious questions about the safety of the drugs, suggesting that users may face an increased risk of acute kidney injury, acute interstitial nephritis, chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal failure. However, Crandell’s lawsuit indicates that the drug makers hid the kidney risks to keep profits high.

“Defendants concealed and continue to conceal their knowledge of PPIs’ unreasonably dangerous risks from Plaintiff, her physicians, other consumers, and the medical community,” the lawsuit states. “Specifically, Defendants failed to adequately inform consumers and the prescribing medical community about the magnified risk of kidney injuries related to the use of PPIs.”

The case joins dozens of similar Nexium lawsuitsPrilosec lawsuits and Prevacid lawsuits brought by individuals nationwide in recent months, and it is widely expected that thousands of additional cases may be filed in the coming months and years, as more individuals and families learn that kidney problems experienced in recent years may have been caused by the use of a proton pump inhibitor.

The lawsuit notes that the first study linking PPIs to kidney injuries dates back to 1992, three years after the first proton pump inhibitor (PPI) was put on the market. However, it would be more than a decade before warnings were placed on the drugs’ labels.

The FDA required the drug makers to update the warnings in December 2014, indicating for the first time that that there may be a risk of acute interstitial nephritis (AIN) risk from Nexium, Prilosec and other proton pump inhibitors. This condition involves inflammation of the kidneys, but plaintiffs maintain that the warnings do not go far enough to raise awareness about the serious risks associated with these medications.

In April 2015, a study published in the medical journal CMAJ Open found that Nexium, Prilosec, and other PPIs cause a 3 times higher risk of acute interstitial nephritis, but were also associated with a 2.5 times higher risk of acute kidney injury, which involves an abrupt loss of kidney function.

Earlier this year, a study published in the medical journal JAMA Internal Medicine built on these findings, examining data on more than 10,000 participants over a period of more than 10 years, finding that the drugs were also associated with a higher incidence of chronic kidney disease.

In April 2016, researchers with the Department of Veterans Affairs found that users of Nexium, Prilosec or other PPIs may be 96% more likely to develop kidney failure and 28% more likely to develop chronic kidney disease after five years of use.

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6 Comments

  • elmaApril 13, 2019 at 1:43 pm

    Stage 111 kidney failure. Been taking nexium 40 mg bid for approx. 2 yrs. Been on nexium 40 mg once a day for approx.5 years.

  • PennieSeptember 28, 2017 at 12:51 am

    I was diagnosed with having acid reflux disease in 2005 and was prescribed prevacid 30 mg decreased years later to 15mg. To take by mouth once a day for stomach. The problem stated by another physician was the length of time I had been prescribed this medication. I was then 2012 referred to a digestive specialist who mentioned it was too long to be still using this medication so he discontinued [Show More]I was diagnosed with having acid reflux disease in 2005 and was prescribed prevacid 30 mg decreased years later to 15mg. To take by mouth once a day for stomach. The problem stated by another physician was the length of time I had been prescribed this medication. I was then 2012 referred to a digestive specialist who mentioned it was too long to be still using this medication so he discontinued it and prescribed linzess. I started noticing blood in my urine so I call up my PCP, to have bled for 3 years was to be referred out to a gynecologist because of the blood plus I started getting kidney and bladder infections to a point where I was so uncomfortable with a soreness in my back to be getting up all hours of the night to urinate to the point where I would feel this dull ache in the middle right side back area that became constant as I continue to have issues today. To see my gynecologist every three months for follow ups concerning this issue with my bladder plus to check my kidneys but could never figure out what was causing this to happen. I have been seeing my gynecologist for 3 years now to try and figure out what is going on since I have no menstrual cycle to have been asked today by another specialist who tests my thyroid to have said to me yes, when mentioned to her my problems was for me to tell my gynecologist about the prevacid which could very well be the factor in this complicated case which is still unknown. So I got home and called my gynecologists nurse and let her know about the prevacid to pass message on to the gynecologist as my follow up approaches. This is a scary thought to think my kidneys may be affected or damaged behind a medication that was over prescribed? Especially when I'm already battling late stage Lyme disease to now be going through this is horrible.

  • CindyNovember 5, 2016 at 6:43 pm

    My husband took Prilosec for 4 years beginning in 2010. In January 2014 he had total kidney failure and had to go on dialysis.

  • PatrickNovember 4, 2016 at 12:17 am

    I have taken Protonix 2x for a month - for before and after a TEE. Will I have any issues?

  • BarryNovember 3, 2016 at 5:03 pm

    In 2012 I was prescribed protonix for supposed " inflammatory lining of the stomach ". In September 2015 I had a kidney removed because it was 96% non functioning and infected. Not enough function for antibiotics to rid the kidney of infection! I still take protonix and after reading this, i'm scared!

  • JohnNovember 2, 2016 at 3:05 am

    Just diagnosed last week with stage 4 kidney disease after 5 yrs of daily omeprazol..(Prilosec}....Scared and angry!!!

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