Nonnarcotic Analgesic Use Tied to Development of Chronic Renal Failure

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Nonnarcotic Analgesic Use Tied to Development of Chronic Renal Failure

http://rheumatology.medscape.com/reuters/prof/2001/12/12.24/20011221clin014.html

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Dec 21 - People who regularly use aspirin or acetaminophen appear to be at increased risk for developing chronic renal failure, according to a report in the December 20th issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. However, it is unclear whether some predisposing condition may explain the association. Dr. C. Fored, from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, and colleagues assessed nonnarcotic analgesic use among 918 patients with newly diagnosed renal failure and among 980 control subjects. Aspirin was used on regular basis by 37% of renal failure patients and by 19% of control subjects. Regular acetaminophen use was reported by 25% of renal failure patients and by 12% of control subjects. Regular use of either analgesic was associated with a 2.5 increased risk of developing chronic renal failure. The relative risk was directly related to the cumulative lifetime analgesic dose and rose more consistently with acetaminophen use than with aspirin use. Furthermore, even after accounting for recent analgesic use, which may have been in response to renal disease antecedents, a strong association between analgesic use and the development of renal failure was still noted. While the findings suggest that acetaminophen and aspirin use may increase the risk of renal failure, "it is impossible to rule out bias caused by the consumption of these analgesics for symptoms of the conditions that predisposed patients to renal failure," the investigators state. N Engl J Med 2001;345:1801-1808.