Chronic Phenacetin Nephropathy (“Chronic Interstitial Nephritis” with Papillary Necrosis)

Since Spiihler and Zollinger (1953) first described the condition as "primary chronic interstitial nephritis," a considerable volume of literature has accumulated about a characteristic form of renal disease in persons on prolonged intake of phenacetin, characterized by interstitial renal fibrosis and chronic papillary necrosis in the absence of diabetes mellitus or ureteric obstruction (Scheidegger, 1958 ; Uehlinger, 1958 ; Larsen and M0ller, 1959; Lindeneg, Fischer, Pedersen, and Nissen, 1959 ; Moolten and Smith, 1960; Buchanan, 1961 ; Lakey, 1961 ; Bengtsson, 1962; Jacobs and Morris, 1962; McCutcheon, 1962; Ross, 1962). No case has yet been recorded in the United Kingdom, although MacGibbon, Loughridge, Hourihane, and Boyd (1960) described a case of non-fatal acute renal failure in association with autoimmune haemolytic anaemia due to phenacetin sensitivity. We now report a typical case in order to draw attention to the condition.