Article title: Analgesic Nephropathy (Painkillers and the Kidneys): NIDDK
Main condition: Analgesic Nephropathy
Conditions: Analgesic Nephropathy, kidney failure
Case reports have attributed incidents of acute kidney failure to the use of painkillers, including aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen. The patients in these reports had risk factors such as systemic lupus erythematosus, advanced age, chronic renal conditions, or a recent binge of alcohol consumption. These cases involved a single dose in some instances and never more than 10 days of analgesic use. Acute kidney failure requires emergency dialysis to clean the blood. But normal kidney function often returns after the emergency is over.
A different kind of problem can result from taking painkillers every day for several years. Analgesic nephropathy is a chronic kidney disease that gradually leads to end-stage renal disease and the permanent need for dialysis or a kidney transplant to restore renal function.
The painkillers that combine two or more analgesics (for example, aspirin and acetaminophen together) with caffeine or codeine are most likely to damage the kidneys. These mixtures are often sold as powders. Single analgesics (e.g., aspirin alone) have not been found to cause kidney damage.
Patients with conditions that put them at risk for acute kidney failure should check with their doctors before taking any medicine. People who take painkillers on a regular basis should check with their doctors to make sure they are not hurting their kidneys. The doctor may be able to recommend a safer alternative.
For more information, contact the following organizations:
American Kidney Fund
6110 Executive Boulevard
Suite
1010
Rockville, MD 20852
(800) 638-8299
Home page: http://www.akfinc.org/
National Kidney Foundation
30 East 33rd Street
New York, NY
10016
(800) 622-9010
Home page: http://www.kidney.org/
The National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse collects resource information on kidney and urologic diseases for the Combined Health Information Database (CHID). CHID is a database produced by health-related agencies of the Federal Government. This database provides titles, abstracts, and availability information for health information and health education resources.
To provide you with the most up-to-date resources, information specialists at the clearinghouse created an automatic search of CHID. To obtain this information you may view the results of the automatic search on Analgesic Nephropathy.
Or, if you wish to perform your own search of the database, you may access the CHID Online web site and search CHID yourself.
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Bethesda, MD 20892-3580
E-mail: National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse
The National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NKUDIC) is a service of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). The NIDDK is part of the National Institutes of Health under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Established in 1987, the clearinghouse provides information about diseases of the kidneys and urologic system to people with kidney and urologic disorders and to their families, health care professionals, and the public. NKUDIC answers inquiries; develops, reviews, and distributes publications; and works closely with professional and patient organizations and Government agencies to coordinate resources about kidney and urologic diseases.
Publications produced by the clearinghouse are carefully reviewed for scientific accuracy, content, and readability.
This e-text is not copyrighted. The clearinghouse encourages users of this e-pub to duplicate and distribute as many copies as desired.
e-text posted: 2 October 1998
» Next page: Anemia in Kidney Disease and Dialysis: NIDDK
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