Antihypertensive Therapy plus Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs Contribute to Risk for Kidney Injury

Patients with hypertension often have conditions for which nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are indicated. However, both NSAIDs and certain antihypertensive drugs (i.e., diuretics, angiotensin-converting–enzyme [ACE] inhibitors, and angiotensin-receptor blockers [ARBs]) have hemodynamic effects on the kidney. Investigators retrospectively studied a U.K. database to examine whether antihypertensive therapy in combination with regular NSAID use is associated with excess risk for acute kidney injury.

Nearly 490,000 users of antihypertensive drugs were included in the study. During a mean follow-up of 5.9 years, >2200 cases of kidney injury were identified (defined as first hospital admission related to kidney injury). Adjusted for …