Analgesics Safe for Use by Patients with Advanced CKD

Aspirin and acetaminophen can be safely used by patients with advanced CKD, according to a population-based Swedish cohort study published in Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation (2009;24:1908-1918).

Marie Evans, MD, of the Karolinska Institutet and University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden, and her colleagues analyzed the decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) over five to seven years among 801 patients with advanced CKD. Investigators conducted in-person interviews to ascertain lifetime analgesic use and current regular analgesic use and obtained data from medical records to monitor analgesic use during follow-up.

Regular acetaminophen users progressed 0.93 mL/min/1.73 m² per year slower than non-regular users. Regular aspirin users progressed 0.80 mL/min/1.73 m² per year slower than non-regular users. “Different levels of lifetime cumulative dose of acetaminophen and aspirin did not significantly affect the progression rate,” the authors observed.

From the July 01, 2009 Issue of Renal and Urology News