Diabetes Care, Vol 23, Issue 12 1742-1745, Copyright © 2000 by American Diabetes Association
Lack of impact of low-dose acetylsalicylic acid on kidney function in type 1 diabetic patients with microalbuminuria
HP Hansen, PH Gaede, BR Jensen and HH Parving
Steno Diabetes Center, Copenhagen, Denmark.
OBJECTIVE: High-dose treatment with cyclooxygenase inhibitors reduces
urinary albumin excretion rate (AER) in type 1 diabetic patients with
microalbuminuria and macroalbuminuria. This effect may lead to an incorrect
classification of albuminuria (normo-, micro-, and macroalbuminuria) and
jeopardize the monitoring of antiproteinuric treatment (e.g., ACE
inhibition). Whether similar difficulties exist using low-dose
acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), now widely recommended for primary and
secondary prevention of cardiovascular events in type 1 diabetic patients
with micro- and macroalbuminuria, remains to be elucidated. RESEARCH DESIGN
AND METHODS: We performed a randomized double-blind crossover trial in 17
type 1 diabetic patients with microalbuminuria (urinary AER 30-300 mg/24
h). Patients were given ASA (150 mg/daily) for 4 weeks followed by placebo
for 4 weeks with at least a 2-week washout period in random order. At the
end of each treatment period, AER (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay),
glomerular filtration rate (GFR) (plasma clearance of 51Cr-EDTA), blood
pressure (BP) (Hawksley), and HbA1c (by high-performance liquid
chromatography) were measured. Patients were advised to follow a normal
diabetes diet without sodium restriction and received their usual
antihypertensive treatment during the investigation. RESULTS: During the
study (ASA vs. placebo), urinary AER (geometric mean 64 [95% CI 39-105] vs.
59 [40-87] mg/24 h), GFR (mean 106 [93-118] vs. 104 [90-117] ml x min(-1) x
1.73 m(-2)), systolic BP (mean 130 [119-141] vs. 130 [119-142] mmHg),
diastolic BP (mean 71 [65-78] vs. 71 [64-78] mmHg), and HbA1c (mean 8.4%
[8.0-9.0] vs. 8.5% [8.1-9.0]) remained unchanged. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment
with 150 mg ASA daily does not have any impact on AER or GFR in type 1
diabetic patients with microalbuminuria. Consequently, primary and
secondary prevention of cardiovascular events with low-dose ASA does not
interfere with the classification of AER or monitoring of antiproteinuric
treatment in such patients.