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Article
April 1975

Prevalence of Renal Disease in Asymptomatic Heroin Addicts

Author Affiliations

From the Sections of Nephrology, Veterans Administration West Side Hospital, and the University of Illinois Abraham Lincoln School of Medicine, Chicago.

Arch Intern Med. 1975;135(4):535-537. doi:10.1001/archinte.1975.00330040047007
Abstract

Renal function was studied in 145 asymptomatic male heroin addicts admitted to a methadone detoxification program. The mean duration of addiction was ten years. Three patients had protein excretion greater than 150 mg/24 hr; in one of these, membranous glomerulonephritis was found. All except one had normal creatinine clearance. Hypertension was present in 2.7%. This study does not support the concept that heroin addiction is associated with a high prevalence of renal disease.

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