5-ASA Therapy and Renal Function in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

TO THE EDITOR: 5-aminosalicylic acids (5-ASA) are widely used drugs for treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In recent years, several case reports of renal impairment were linked to the use of 5-ASA compounds, either via inhibition of cyclooxygenases, a hypersensitivity reaction leading to acute reversible interstitial nephritis or a dose-dependent “analgesic nephropathy” (for overview see reference (1)).