OBJECTIVE NSAIDs are commonly prescribed to control gout attacks in patients with hyperuricaemia. We investigated risk factors for NSAID-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients with hyperuricaemia.

METHODS We identified 328 patients with hyperuricaemia treated with NSAIDs at Seoul National University Hospital between December 1998 and January 2008 to investigate risk factors for NSAID-induced AKI. The risk factors evaluated included age, sex, BMI, comorbidity, NSAID COX-2 selectivity, baseline glomerular filtration rate (GFR), serum uric acid, serum albumin, haemoglobin level, ratio of blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine and the use of allopurinol. After extracting possible risk factors through univariate analysis, multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed with backward selection to derive a risk model for NSAID-induced AKI in patients with hyperuricaemia.

RESULTS Thirty (9.1%) NSAID users developed AKI. Univariate analysis revealed that old age (P = 0.008), low GFR (P = 0.001), low serum albumin (P < 0.001) and low haemoglobin levels (P < 0.001) were possible risk factors. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that low baseline GFR [odds ratio (OR) 4.86, 95% CI 1.27, 18.55, P = 0.021, for GFR 15-29 vs ≥60 ml/min/1.73 m(2)] and low serum albumin (OR 4.43, 95% CI 1.82, 10.80, P = 0.001, for albumin ≤4 vs >4 g/dl) are risk factors for NSAID-induced AKI in patients with hyperuricaemia.

CONCLUSION Low GFR and low serum albumin are risk factors for AKI in hyperuricaemic patients treated with NSAIDs. Our results suggest that NSAIDs should be used with caution in patients with low serum albumin.