Analgesic nephropathy natural history, complications and prognosis

The prognosis of analgesic nephropathy depends on the scarring and damage to the renal tissue. Most patients in early stages recover to normal renal function after stopping the analgesic drug, however some may progress to end stage renal disease (ESRD). Complications of analgesic nephropathy include: urinary tract infections, varying degrees of renal failure and End stage renal disease (ESRD).

• Renal function in most patients recovers to normal level after stopping the usage of analgesic drug if it is in the early stages of the disease.^[1]
• Depending on the scarring and damage to the renal tissue, some patients may progress to end stage renal disease (ESRD), even after stopping the usage of analgesic drug.^[1]

Complications associated with analgesic nephropathy include:^[2][3]

• Urinary tract infections
• Varying degrees of renal failure
• End stage renal disease (ESRD)^[1]
• Transitional cell tumours of the urothelium (in abuse of analgesics containing phenacetin)

The prognosis of analgesic nephropathy depends on the scarring and damage to the renal tissue. Most patients in early stages recover to normal renal function after stopping the analgesic drug, however some may progress to end stage renal disease (ESRD).^[1]

Some factors that contribute to poor outcome include:^[2]

• Malignant hypertension
• Persistent proteinuria
• Initial renal size and glomerular filtration rate (GFR)

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