Study: NSAIDs can cause kidney damage in children.

The Huffington Post (1/26, Reid) reported, "Giving children painkillers such as Advil [ibuprofen] and Aleve [naproxen] instead of Tylenol [acetaminophen] or no drugs at all can lead to serious kidney damage, according to a new study."

        HealthDay (1/26, Reinberg) reported, "For the study, which was published in the Jan. 25 online edition of the Journal of Pediatrics," researchers "looked at the medical records of children admitted to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis from 1999 through mid-2010. Over that time, they identified more than 1,000 cases of children being treated for kidney damage."

        MedPage Today (1/26, Neale) reported that "2.7% of" the "acute kidney injury cases identified...were determined to be caused by NSAID exposure," including "21 patients who had clinical, laboratory, radiographic, or pathologic findings suggestive of NSAID-associated acute tubular necrosis and six who had findings indicative of NSAID-associated acute interstitial nephritis." The investigators found that "the most common agent used in the cases of NSAID-associated acute kidney injury was ibuprofen (67%)."

        CBC News (CAN) (1/26) adds, "The researchers called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory or NSAIDs such as ibuprofen, perhaps the most common avoidable risk for acute kidney failure in children. The drugs are given to relieve pain and fever."