Why exactly is Oral Sodium Phosphate so bad?

After following the OSP (oral sodium phosphate) story—where the FDA required a black box warning for colonoscopy prep solutions containing OSP, such as Osmo-Prep and Visicol, as they were found to potentially increase the risk of kidney failure, I started to wonder just what the heck OSP does when it’s in your system. 

Here’s what it does. According to a “Dear Mayo Clinic” column answered by Dr. Stephen B. Erickson of the Mayo Clinic’s Nephrology department (mayoclinic.org, 4/15/07),

“The problem occurs when phosphates, which should pass through the kidneys, collect there instead. As a result, areas of the kidneys become calcified—in effect, “turn to stone.” This can damage the kidneys in two ways: by clogging some of the organ’s ducts, and by disabling some kidney tissue, which is essential for filtering out toxins from the blood. Both kinds of damage are permanent.

While this damage is said to occur “rarely,” that’s because only the worst cases present symptoms. What concerns me is that we may be recognizing just the “tip of the iceberg”.” ”There may be many more instances of mild and moderate kidney damage, which tend to go unnoticed because they are usually asymptomatic. A person’s kidney function could go down to 20-25 percent of normal and yet he or she might feel perfectly well.

Not only may there be a lot more damage from sodium phosphate bowel cleanser than is generally detected, but also many other people who have kidney problems (from whatever cause) simply don’t know it. Some 5-10 percent of the U.S. population is estimated to have less than 60 percent of normal kidney function. These people should especially avoid using sodium phosphate bowel cleanser, but most of them—and many of their doctors—are unaware of the risk being incurred.”

So in effect, OSP bowel cleansers are not just potentially dangerous for those who know they have a kidney condition—but also for those in the 5-10 percent of the US population who are estimated to have reduced kidney function, and don’t know it.

Tags: Oral Sodium Phosphate, OSP

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 23rd, 2009 and is filed under Drugs/Medical, Personal Injury. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.