Is phenacetin responsible for analgesic nephropathy in New South Wales?

Abstract

A lifetime history of analgesic consumption was recorded at interview from 91 patients (11 men, 80 women) with a secure diagnosis of renal papillary necrosis, 38 patients (5 men, 33 women) with probable renal papillary necrosis and 223 control subjects from two sources. Consumption of phenacetin-containing analgesics increased the risk of renal papillary necrosis in women some seventeen times over that for non-consumers, but analgesics containing no phenacetin did not confer an increased risk of renal papillary necrosis; in both calculations the confounding effect of taking the other type of analgesic was controlled.