Fournier’s Gangrene May Be Linked to Diabetes Medication

Fournier’s gangrene is a serious flesh-eating infection of the genitals that might affect patients who are taking diabetes medications like Segluromet. The FDA recently released a communication about the risk of developing Fournier’s gangrene when taking particular diabetes drugs.

The link between these diabetes drugs and Fournier’s gangrene flesh eating infection is extremely important for patients to understand because while rare, this infection can be severe. If not caught quickly by a doctor, Fournier’s gangrene can become a painful and serious condition.

Patients taking the affected diabetes medication may want to discuss the risk profile of the drug with their doctor.

In August 2018, the FDA first presented a warning about certain SGLT2 inhibitors that were linked to a necrotizing fasciitis infection. SGLT2 inhibitors are extremely popular for treatment of those patients who have type-2 diabetes.

According to the FDA, a larger than expected number of patients taking SGLT2 inhibitors have reported developing Fournier’s gangrene. Fournier’s gangrene is very rare but can be a life-endangering bacterial infection of a patient’s tissue. The affected tissue is under the patient’s skin and surrounds blood vessels, fat, nerves and muscles, according to the FDA’s statement about the Fournier’s gangrene risk.

The bacteria will usually enter the body through a break in the skin. As a growing number of cases of Fournier’s gangrene are being reported, patients must be aware of this risk profile and may want to consult with their physicians. Since most people are unaware of this medical condition to begin with, they might not spot the symptoms quickly enough to get proper medical attention.

People who have diabetes already face a high risk of developing this kind of infection compared to those people who do not have diabetes. Excess glucose located in the urine and the bloodstream can feed the infection and can slow down healing for small cuts.

The FDA says that between March 2013 and May 2018, at least 12 cases of Fournier’s gangrene were documented in those patients taking an SGLT2 inhibitor. Fournier’s gangrene frequently affects the genitals and can also lead to tissue removal or amputation.

More often than not, Fournier’s gangrene happens if a skin wound causes bacteria and organisms to enter the bloodstream. The infection can spread over to deeper tissues and cause concerns like tissue death and inflammation.

The FDA says that any patients who are experiencing a fever of 100.4 or higher or have other general signs of infection should schedule an appointment with their doctor as soon as possible to rule out or confirm the presence of Fournier’s gangrene.

Since Fournier’s gangrene can have severe impacts for those patients taking Segluromet or similar medications, any patient currently taking these medications may want to speak their physicians about alternatives. Any SGLT2 inhibitors could be linked to this dangerous side effect, putting patients at risk of developing this bacterial infection that could spread extremely quickly.

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The type-2 diabetes medications linked to the flesh-eating infection include:

• Invokana
• Invokamet/Invokamet XR
• Farxiga
• Xigduo XR
• Qtern
• Jardiance
• Glyxambi
• Synjardy/Synjardy XR
• Steglato
• Segluromet
• Steglujan