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Several case reports suggest that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use is associated with development of thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA). We conducted a matched population-based case-control study using linked administrative healthcare data in Ontario, Canada to assess the relationship between TMA hospitalization and recent exposure to prescription NSAIDs versus acetaminophen (acetaminophen was chosen as the referent drug because it has no known association with TMA). Cases and controls were drawn from a source population of adults who filled a prescription for either NSAIDs or acetaminophen between 1991 and 2015 (restricted to adults with prescription drug benefits [n = 3.6 million]). We identified 44 eligible cases with a hospital admission for incident TMA and a recent prescription for NSAIDs or acetaminophen. We successfully matched 38 cases (1:4) to 152 controls without TMA on demographics, risk factors for TMA, and indications for NSAID use. Cases and controls were similar with respect to age (71 years) and sex (63% women); however, on average, cases had more comorbidities than controls (12 vs. 14; p<0.05) and more primary care visits in the year before the index date (19 vs. 12; p<0.05). Cases were significantly less likely than controls to have received a recent prescription for NSAIDs (19/38 [50%] vs. 115/152 [76%], respectively; adjusted odds ratio 0.37, 95% confidence interval: 0.16 to 0.84). Results were similar in several sensitivity analyses. Overall, the results of this study do not support a harmful association between NSAID use and the development of TMA., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a rare complication of pregnancy, but may be associated with significant morbidity and mortality in young and often otherwise healthy women. We conducted a retrospective population-based cohort study of all consecutive pregnancies over a 15-year period (1997-2011) in Ontario, Canada, and describe the incidence and outcomes of AKI treated with dialysis during pregnancy or within 12 weeks of delivery. Of 1,918,789 pregnancies, 188 were complicated by AKI treated with dialysis (incidence: 1 per 10,000 [95% confidence interval, 0.8 to 1.1]). Only 21 of 188 (11.2%) women had record of a preexisting medical condition; however, 130 (69.2%) women experienced a major pregnancy-related complication, including preeclampsia, thrombotic microangiopathy, heart failure, sepsis, or postpartum hemorrhage. Eight women died (4.3% versus 0.01% in the general population), and seven (3.9%) women remained dialysis dependent 4 months after delivery. Low birth weight (<2500 g), small for gestational age, or preterm birth (<37 weeks' gestation) were more common in pregnancies in which dialysis was initiated (35.6% versus 14.0%; relative risk, 3.40; 95% confidence interval, 2.52 to 4.58). There were no stillbirths and fewer than five neonatal deaths (<2.7%) in affected pregnancies compared with 0.1% and 0.8%, respectively, in the general population. In conclusion, AKI treated with dialysis during pregnancy is rare and typically occurs in healthy women who acquire a major pregnancy-related medical condition such as preeclampsia. Many affected women and their babies have good short-term outcomes., (Copyright © 2015 by the American Society of Nephrology.)

Background: Young women wishing to become living kidney donors frequently ask whether nephrectomy will affect their future pregnancies., Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of living kidney donors involving 85 women (131 pregnancies after cohort entry) who were matched in a 1:6 ratio with 510 healthy nondonors from the general population (788 pregnancies after cohort entry). Kidney donations occurred between 1992 and 2009 in Ontario, Canada, with follow-up through linked health care databases until March 2013. Donors and nondonors were matched with respect to age, year of cohort entry, residency (urban or rural), income, number of pregnancies before cohort entry, and the time to the first pregnancy after cohort entry. The primary outcome was a hospital diagnosis of gestational hypertension or preeclampsia. Secondary outcomes were each component of the primary outcome examined separately and other maternal and fetal outcomes., Results: Gestational hypertension or preeclampsia was more common among living kidney donors than among nondonors (occurring in 15 of 131 pregnancies [11%] vs. 38 of 788 pregnancies [5%]; odds ratio for donors, 2.4; 95% confidence interval, 1.2 to 5.0; P=0.01). Each component of the primary outcome was also more common among donors (odds ratio, 2.5 for gestational hypertension and 2.4 for preeclampsia). There were no significant differences between donors and nondonors with respect to rates of preterm birth (8% and 7%, respectively) or low birth weight (6% and 4%, respectively). There were no reports of maternal death, stillbirth, or neonatal death among the donors. Most women had uncomplicated pregnancies after donation., Conclusions: Gestational hypertension or preeclampsia was more likely to be diagnosed in kidney donors than in matched nondonors with similar indicators of baseline health. (Funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and others.).

Guidance regarding appropriate and cost-effective use of prescription drugs is published in the Ontario Drug Benefit Formulary in the form of "therapeutic notes." We conducted a cross-sectional study of all residents of Ontario aged 66 and older who received a new prescription for one of two drugs, aliskiren or sitagliptin, between December 1, 2008 and March 31, 2012 to determine how frequently such guidance is followed. Approximately half of initial prescriptions for aliskiren and sitagliptin were prescribed in a manner that did not conform to the therapeutic note recommendations (51.4% and 49.3%, respectively). Given this high rate of non-conformance, policy makers may wish to use other mechanisms to influence prescriber behaviour to improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare., (Copyright © 2014 Longwoods Publishing.)