A new study has been published by the Journal of the American Medical Association Opthalmology linking use of the anticoagulant Xarelto (rivaroxaban) to eye bleeding. The study, conducted by Retina Associates of Orange County in Laguna Hills, California, observes three patients who developed spontaneous vitreous hemorrhage after starting use of Xarelto. The researchers note that all three patients were tapering off another anticoagulant at the time of their diagnoses.
Xarelto is an anticoagulant, or blood-thinning drug, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2011. Xarelto is intended to prevent blood clots in patients undergoing certain procedures or with irregular heartbeats. But according to plaintiffs in Xarelto lawsuits, the anticoagulant can lead to severe or even fatal bleeding. Xarelto lawsuits allege that the drug’s manufacturers, including Bayer and Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Pharmaceuticals, did not adequately test their product before its release, and that certain side effects caused by Xarelto have been hidden or downplayed.
All three patients observed by the new study were men, two of whom were in their seventies and one of whom was in his eighties. B-scan ultrasonography confirmed bleeding in all three patients’ right eyes. For two of the men, the hemorrhaging cleared up and vision was restored within a month. The third man had to wait two months before his bleeding resolved and vision returned.
As more doctors switch patients from anticoagulants like clopidogrel and welfarin to Xarleto, additional eye bleeding cases are expected to develop. These would likely only add fuel to the fire for Xarelto lawsuits, which have been consolidated in a multidistrict litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Consult your doctor before making any changes to your treatment program. If you or someone you know suffered serious bleeding or other injuries after taking Xarelto, contact Lopez McHugh today to speak free of charge with a Xarelto attorney. You may qualify for legal damages through a Xarelto lawsuit.
