Analgesic nephropathy in West Germany

• Published in: The Lancet (North American edition) Vol. 1; no. 8474; p. 210
• Main Authors: Schwarz, A, Faber, U, Glaeske, G, Keller, F, Offermann, G
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.01.1986
• ISSN: 0099-5355

In the 1950s Swiss investigators drew attention to analgesic abuse and analgesic nephropathy but in some centres analgesic abuse remains a considerable cause of renal disease. A 1983 survey of forty-nine dialysis centres in Germany showed that analgesic nephropathy accounted for 13% of dialysis cases (a prevalence similar to that reported for new dialysis patients by the European Dialysis and Transplant Association in 1982). However, frequencies ranged from 0% to 50%, and analgesic nephropathy was the most frequently diagnosed primary disease in the 144 patients in the authors' dialysis centre (33%). Roughly 10% of female outpatients in Berlin are taking more than one analgesic mixture daily, and sales statistics released by the German pharmaceutical industry for 1983 indicate total sales of 2 multiplied by 9 x 10 super(9) analgesic tablets (or 48 per person per year) and average consumption of 1 multiplied by 3 g phenacetin. This phenacetin consumption is lower than that given in earlier reports of consumption in Australia (40 g) and Switzerland (22 g) but is higher than the 1 g or less recorded in Scandinavia.