A woman claims that long-term Nexium use caused her to experience kidney failure.

Alice D. filed suit against AstraZeneca in late December, alleging the maker of the popular heartburn medication neglected to warn consumers and the medical community about the dangers of long-term Nexium use.

She claims she would never have taken the drug had she known of the risks to her health.

Alice’s doctor prescribed Nexium in September 2014. She took the medication as directed until April 2016. She claims that this use of the drug caused severe and permanent disabling injuries related to kidney failure.

So far, doctors are not sure how Nexium, Prilosec and other PPIs damage the kidneys, but there are some ideas. PPIs work by reducing hydrochloric acid in the stomach.

They also reduce the magnesium levels in the body, which means perhaps the kidneys suffer from being denied enough of the mineral. Another theory is that the kidneys might sustain damage because of the PPI’s recurrent kidney inflammation over time.

Studies Regarding Long-term Nexium Use

Several studies in the last few years link long-term Nexium use with increased incidence of acute kidney injury, acute interstitial nephritis, chronic kidney disease and kidney failure.

Alice’s lawsuit alleges that AstraZeneca knew of the risks of kidney injuries as far back as 2004 through case reports, clinical studies and post-market surveillance, yet did not warn the public.

In fact, the first warnings of the risks of kidney problems were added to Nexium packaging in December 2014.

In April 2015, CMAJ Open, a Canadian medical journal, said that long-term Nexium use makes users possibly three times more likely to suffer from acute interstitial nephritis and 2.5 times more apt to experience acute kidney injury.

Acute interstitial nephritis means there is a sudden swelling between the kidney’s inner tubules. Acute kidney injury is a sudden episode of kidney failure or kidney damage that happens within a short period of time, within hours or days. It causes a build-up of waste products in the blood.

In 2016, the medical journal JAMA Internal Medicine announced that long-term Nexium use can increase the risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) 50 percent over non-PPI users.

“Defendants knew or should have known about the correlation between the use of Nexium and the significantly increased risk of CKD and acute kidney injuries,” says Alice’s lawsuit.

“Despite clear knowledge that Nexium causes a significantly increased risk of CKD and acute kidney injuries, Defendants continued to market and sell Nexium without warning consumers or healthcare providers of the significant risks of CKD and acute kidney injuries.”

PPI-induced kidney damage often develops slowly with subtle changes, which causes a delay in diagnosis. Patients who are diagnosed after more kidney damage has been done are at a higher risk of developing chronic kidney disease, which can lead to kidney failure.

Because many PPIs are available at over-the-counter doses and because the drug makers have lulled the public and medical community into thinking the drugs are safe, the number of long-term Nexium users is quite high.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of kidney injury due to long-term Nexium use, you could be eligible for compensation through legal action.

This Long-term Nexium Use Lawsuit is Case No. 2:16-vc-17753 in the U.S District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.