Aspirin and analgesic nephropathy

R. D. Emkey and J. A. Mills

To assess the effects of long-term aspirin ingestion on renal function, we studied all of the patients at the Massachusetts General Hospital Arthritis Clinic who had been taking aspirin continuously for ten or more years. Aspirin ingestion was documented by multiple, random, unannounced blood salicylate levels. Most of these 46 patients had seropositive rheumatoid arthritis. All creatinine and BUN levels were normal. Maximum recorded specific gravities were greater than 1.019 in 43 of 46 patients. These data suggest that long-term salicylate ingestion does not cause renal damage.