An autopsy study performed in Switzerland suggested that the prevalence of analgesic nephropathy in the general population has likewise decreased; the prevalence was 3% in 1980 and 0.2% in 2000.While these data demonstrate that analgesic nephropathy has been all but eliminated in some regions, in other regions the condition persists. Notably, in Belgium, the prevalence of analgesic nephropathy among people having dialysis was 17.9% in 1984 and 15.6% in 1990. Michielsen and de Schepper suggest that analgesic nephropathy persists among people in Belgium having dialysis not due to non-phenacetin analgesics, but because Belgium accepts a higher proportion of elderly people for dialysis. According to these authors, a greater proportion have analgesic nephropathy because a greater percentage of people in Belgium having dialysis have been exposed to long-term use of phenacetin. Terminology
The term analgesic nephropathy usually refers to damage induced by excessive use of combinations of these medications, specifically combinations that include phenacetin. For this reason, it is also called analgesic abuse nephropathy. Murray prefers the less judgmental analgesic-associated nephropathy. Both terms are abbreviated to the acronym AAN, by which the condition is also commonly known. References


== External links ==
History
The original name of dimercaprol reflects its origins as a compound secretly developed by British biochemists at Oxford University during World War II as an antidote for lewisite, a now-obsolete arsenic-based chemical warfare agent. See also
EDTA
2,3-Dimercapto-1-propanesulfonic acid
Dimercaptosuccinic acid
DMSA scan
Penicillamine
Heavy metal poisoning

References
External links
"Dimercaprol". Drug Information Portal. U.S. National Library of Medicine.