[Analgesics-induced chronic renal failure in patients on dialysis therapy in Hungary]

In recent years elaboration of the diagnosis of analgesic-nephropathy (ANP) with the help of imaging techniques significantly increased the possibility of diagnosing the disease. Therefore, evaluating the prevalence of ANP has become more accurate in our country as well. The prevalence of ANP has been investigated in patients who have newly been taken into the dialysis program due to renal disease of unknown aetiology in 22 dialysis centers between December 1994-December 1997. The diagnosis of ANP has been based on revealing chronic drug abuse in the history and positive results of renal imaging (decrease in length of both kidneys combined with either bumpy contours and/or papillary calcification). Among 284 patients dialysed with unknown diagnosis 42 (14.8% of all cases) proved to have ANP. All patients except 2 took analgesic mixtures containing phenacetin/paracetamol, phenason derivatives, acetilsalysilic acid, caffeine and/or codeine. According to their investigations, ANP is a common disease resulting in end-stage renal failure in Hungary as well.