Alojz Rajnič
Analgesic nephropathy is a slowly progressive disease caused by the chronic abuse of analgesic mixtures containing minimum two antipyretic components combined with potentially addictive substances, usually also caffeine and/or codeine (only in drugs on prescription). Classical analgesic nephropathy is a chronic renal disease characterised by renal papillary necrosis and chronic tubulointerstitial nephritis, which may result to progressive renal insufficiency, mainly in the presence of other noxa damaging the kidney. The present paper aims to highlight the risk of analgesic and non-steroid antiflogistic drug-induced renal injury during pharmacotherapy. The purpose is to raise the awareness of the importance of taking into account the renal risk when prescribing a drug and educating patients while handing them an over-the-counter medication.