← brief for 2026-08-26 · Slowing decline

Fatal intoxication caused by conventional-dose methotrexate in an elderly patient with end-stage renal disease: A cautionary case report.

Key takeaways

A 71-year-old man with rheumatoid arthritis and failing kidneys died after taking a normal low dose of methotrexate, a common arthritis drug. Healthy kidneys clear this drug from the body, so when they stop working the drug can build up to poisonous levels. This is a single case report, so it shows a link, not proof of cause. The authors flag it as a warning that standard doses can be dangerous in end-stage kidney disease.

Who did this work

He Q · Huang X

Source

Article · PubMed, CKD progression and prevention · 2026 Aug 21
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42629702/