Why Is GranuFlo & NaturaLyte More Dangerous Than Other Dialysis Drugs?

In a memo issued by Fresenius in November of 2011, they revealed the main issue with GranuFlo and NaturaLyte side effects. They explained that the dangerous side effect risk came from the two concentrates causing metabolic alkalosis. This is a potentially deadly side effect that has led many GranuFlo and NaturaLyte patients to experience heart attacks and other serious side effects. Sadly, the internal memo — which was only issued to Fresenius-owned dialysis centers and not all centers that used GranuFlo and NaturaLyte — claimed that there had been over 900 deaths due to side effects of GranuFlo and NaturaLyte.

So, the common question seems to be what makes these two dialysis medications so much more dangerous than other kidney failure treatment options? The answer is surprisingly simple. The sole purpose of a patient going through dialysis is so that the toxins are cleaned from the blood stream of the patient when the patient’s kidneys are no longer functioning correctly. So, when dialysis occurs there can be an acid that builds up in the patient’s blood. This can then cause the pH to be imbalanced. That is where products like GranuFlo and NaturaLyte come in. They are used to keep the acid levels and a healthy level.

This is where the problem comes in. Other dialysis concentrates are made up of acetic acid. However, GranuFlo and NaturaLyte are made up of sodium diacetate. As a result, this gives the two products two-times as much acetate as other dialysis treatment products. What this means is that NaturaLyte and GranuFlo can potentially raise the bicarbonate levels of the kidney dialysis patient a great deal more than other dialysis products. Sadly, Fresenius did not do a good job of educating doctors of this information prior to releasing GranuFlo and NaturaLyte onto the market and as a result the doctors were mixing the concentrate at the same dose as they would with other dialysis products. Essentially this caused them to overdose their patients and as a result many patients have experience severe side effects that have resulted in death.

Some of the less severe side effects that GranuFlo and NaturaLyte caused their patients to experience included the following:

* Nausea
* Headaches
* Cramps
* Diarrhea

Some of the more severe side effects caused by GranuFlo and NaturaLyte include:

* Hyperventilation
* Seizures
* Convulsions
* A drop in blood pressure
* Arrhythmias
* Cardiac arrest. (heart attack)

After the internal memo was released by Fresenius it was then leaked to the FDA. The FDA then began their investigation in the spring of 2012 and then subsequently issued a Class I recall in June of 2012. However, there are still many GranuFlo and NaturaLyte victims out there that have not associated the side effects that they experienced with the dialysis products they used. As more awareness is brought forward regarding the serious GranuFlo and NaturaLyte side effects, more and more GranuFlo and NaturaLyte lawsuits will likely be filed.