Elderly people taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are unlikely to have excess renal impairment

The importance of possible adverse effects on renal function of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs has been widely discussed. Elderly people have been thought to be particularly at risk. We therefore studied simple indices of renal function and plasma potassium in 54 patients with a mean age of 85 years, 27 taking these drugs and 27 controls. Twenty five of our 54 patients were also taking diuretics. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs did not affect renal function or plasma potassium in these patients.