Improving NSAID Prescribing in Older Adults With CKD—Beyond Guidelines

The recent article from Hall et al1 highlighted that 3 or more potentially inappropriate medications, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), increased the risk of hospitalization, mortality, and falls among adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD). NSAIDs continue to be prescribed to those most at risk for NSAID-associated adverse effects, such as those with CKD and older adults, despite guidelines emphasizing their potentially inappropriate use.2,3 In our cross-sectional study of 197,932 older adults from Singapore’s largest cluster of public health care institutions that provide primary and specialist care to nearly a third of the country, comorbid conditions such as diabetes and CKD were prevalent among those prescribed NSAIDs (Table 1).