IVC Filter Use is Declining Following Health Warnings

The use of Inferior vena cava filters rose rapidly over the last few years. However, new figures suggest IVC filter use is declining. The trend is likely linked to the health concerns over this dangerous medical device.

An article in MedPageToday noted the use of IVC filters reached a high in 2010. However, in the same year, the FDA issued a warning about the long-term use of IVC filters.

The rate per 100,000 hospitalizations related to use of the devices rose from 322.1 in 2005 to 412.0 in 2010. Use of the filters then declined to 374.1 in 2011 and 321.8 in 2014.

The findings came from David Brown, MD, of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and his colleagues. It was reported in JAMA Internal Medicine.

In 2010, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning against IVC filters.

Inferior vena cava filters small devices that are put in the largest vein in human the body, the vena cava. This important vein carries de-oxygenated blood from the lower extremities to the right atrium of the patient’s heart and then on to the lungs.

IVC Filter Use is Declining as Lawsuits Ramp Up

IVC filters are used for patients who are diagnosed with deep veined thrombosis in their legs. The devices are meant to prevent blood clots from migrating to the vital organs of the brain, hearts and lungs where they can prove to be deadly for the patient.

However, research suggested the filters were migrating and causing major issues in the patient such as life-threatening embolisms and deep veined thrombosis.

The first lawsuits were filed in 2012. In Feb. 2015, IVC filter manufacturer C.R. Bard settled a case with Kevin Philips 10 days after the trial began.

Philips alleged the Bard Recovery IVC filter he was fitted with fractured inside his body and one of the small metal legs migrated to his heart, perforating it. The subsequent meant open heart surgery and a lengthy recovery.

Hundreds of cases have subsequently been filed by patients who claim IVC filters caused serious complications.

However, this month a federal jury cleared Cook Medical Inc of liability in the first trial over the company’s vein filters. A Florida woman said the device caused her internal injuries.

A jury at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana found that Cook did not defectively design the medical device. That was the only claim that was left from the Elizabeth Hill’s initial complaint.

Many other lawsuits are pending. If you have been injured by an IVC filter, please call our Virginia defective medical products attorneys at (757) 455-0077.