Therapeutic implications associated with renal studies of nabumetone

Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAID) decrease renal prostaglandins and may cause a decrease in renal blood flow, glomerular filtration, and sodium excretion. In some cases, these effects result in renal failure, edema, or hypertension. Patients with decreased effective circulating fluid volume are at greatest risk for development of these renal side effects. In addition, NSAID can cause interstitial nephritis. However, in double blind and open label controlled clinical trials, nabumetone had an effect on renal function in less than 1% of patients, regardless of sex or advanced age. Furthermore, in patients with normal or impaired renal function, single or multiple doses of nabumetone did not cause significant changes in creatinine clearance or serum creatinine values. However, with any NSAID including nabumetone, renal function should be measured before beginning therapy and periodically thereafter in patients at risk for the development of renal impairment.