AstraZeneca is facing a new Nexium lawsuit, after the plaintiff suffered serious injuries soon after starting the heartburn medication. According to the claim, these serious Nexium side effects resulted in long term health conditions, including kidney problems.

Plaintiff Terry B. is filing this Nexium lawsuit after allegedly developing kidney problems soon after taking the medication. He complains there was no indication for such an injury on the listed Nexium side effects.

Along with another heartburn medication (Prevacid), Terry began taking Nexium in October 2006 and stayed on the medication until April 2016.

He stopped taking the medication after being hospitalized for kidney problems, after which he was soon diagnosed with acute kidney damage. Not long after his diagnosis, Terry learned that kidney problems could be likely linked to Nexium side effects based on recent studies.

Overview of Nexium Side Effects

The most recent study found that popular proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) like Prilosec and Nexium had as much as a 96% increased risk of kidney failure. Proton pump inhibitors are typically prescribed to patients suffering from heartburn, ulcers and acid reflux.

Approximately 15 million Americans have been prescribed these medications, but their recent association with kidney problems has become a concern for the medical community. Patients who took heartburn medications in the same class were found to have a 28% increased risk of developing chronic kidney disease.

This study was published in the Journal of the America Society of Nephrology which analyzed patients taking proton pump inhibitors. The side effects that were most noted were related to kidney problems and were mostly seen in patients who had suffered either Prilosec or Nexium side effects.

The study divided the PPI subject group with another heartburn medication type, H2 receptor blockers, and compared the severity of the medication side effects and how often they occurred. The results indicated the proton pump inhibitors were much more likely to induce kidney problems, compared to the H2 receptor blockers.

Other studies were conducted to observe the link between PPIs and acute interstitial nephritis, which is a condition known to lead to kidney failure. In late 2014, the FDA was approved for a label update for Nexium side effects to include kidney problems.

Patients who are taking Nexium or other PPIs should be on the lookout for any signs of kidney failure including anemia, weak bones, bleeding in stomach or intestines and other unusual symptoms. Kidney failure often is treated with dialysis, and a kidney transplant may be necessary to the patient’s survival.

Even though this condition is life threatening, AstraZeneca allegedly failed to adequately explain the link between kidney problems and Nexium side effects.

Terry insists that he never would have taken Nexium if he had known the drug’s alleged link to kidney failure. So for being allegedly responsible for manufacturing, selling, distributing and marketing a dangerous drug, Terry is suing AstraZeneca.

The Nexium Lawsuit is Case No. CV16-2934, in the U.S. District Court of Eastern New York.