[Characteristics of terminal analgesics-induced nephropathy]

The diagnosis of analgesic-associated nephropathy (AAN) may be missed because of the patients denial or regular analgesic intake. We therefore performed a cross-sectional study of the 144 patients of our hemodialysis center to investigate differences between the 48 patients with AAN (33%) and patients with other kidney diseases who served as controls. The aim was to find other attributes of analgesic users relating to social history, habits and morbidity. Dialysis patients with AAN were significantly older (60 +/- 10 versus 52 +/- 15 years) and more frequently women (65% versus 37%) compared with controls; they often had a family history of analgesic abuse. Comparison with an age-matched control group of hemodialysis patients with other kidney diseases showed that AAN patients smoked, used hypnotics and laxatives, and required prescriptions significantly more frequently; they were less frequently willing to undergo renal transplantation. With regard to accompanying diseases, they suffered significantly more often than the age-matched controls from anemia, renal osteodystrophy, peptic ulcer disease, diverticulosis, hemorrhoids, atrial fibrillation, coronary heart disease, hyperlipidemia, carpal tunnel syndrome, and urinary tract infections. The characteristic pattern of habits, social history and accompanying diseases may facilitate the diagnosis of AAN even in cases where analgesic consumption is denied.