Baycol and Rhabdomyolysis
Every statin has been linked to very rare reports of the
muscle side effect called rhabdomyolysis, but Baycol - made
by Bayer Pharmaceutical - has been linked to significantly
more fatal cases than its competitors, said the FDA's Dr.
John Jenkins.
- MSNBC, 8/8/01
Rhabdomyolysis is a life-threatening condition that results
from skeletal muscle injury with the release of muscle cell
contents into the plasma. First reported in 1881, rhabdomyolysis
is a very rare side effect of prescription drugs but has been
found to occur with the use of statin drugs like Baycol. When
the muscle is damaged from rhabdomyolysis, it releases pigments
from the muscle and blood into the bloodstream. The kidney
then filters the pigments out of the blood and it accumulates
in the kidney and blocks up the filtering portion of the kidney,
causing kidney failure.
Baycol was the first statin directly associated to death
due to severe muscle disorder. In the past, other statin drug
treatments were associated to rhabdomyolysis but not as frequently
to fatal cases of it unlike Baycol. At the time of the Baycol
recall, there had been 32 FDA reports of Baycol deaths attributed
to severe rhabdomyolysis in the U.S. in addition to 20 Baycol
deaths outside of the U.S. Presently, there have been over
one hundred deaths due to rhabdomyolysis and Baycol use, but
Dr. Sidney Wolfe of the Public Citizen consumer group thinks
that hundreds of Baycol patients have suffered from rhabdomyolysis
attacks. Only about a fraction of the actual drug adverse
effects are likely reported.
Symptoms of Severe Rhabdomyolysis Include:
- Muscle pain
- Weakness
- Malaise
- Fever
- Dark Urine
- Nausea
- Vomiting
Rhabdomyolysis pain as a result of Baycol use can occur in
specific muscles or more generalized. Most commonly, rhabdomyolysis
pain occurs in the calves and lower back. Symptoms of rhabdomyolysis
were often mistaken for symptoms of the flu, postponing proper
treatment and allowing progression of the potentially deadly
condition to progress. Rhabdomyolysis can be diagnosed through
a blood test to measure one's creatine kinase levels. When
there is an elevated level of creatine kinase in the blood
this indicates skeletal muscle necrosis, and when myoglobin
is found in the urine rhabdomyolysis and kidney failure may
be present.
If you have experienced the dangerous adverse Baycol side
effects that have caused numerous deaths contact
us to obtain more information from a Baycol lawyer.
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