Enteric coated aspirin may reduce risk

BMJ 1995;311:391 (5 August)

Letters

Enteric coated aspirin may reduce risk

EDITOR,--D N Bateman and J G Kennedy fail to mention entericcoated aspirin in their editorial on non-steroidal anti-inflammatorydrugs and elderly patients.¹ Evidence indicates that entericcoated aspirin is not accompanied by the high risk of adverseeffects found with plain aspirin or the much more expensiveanti-inflammatory drugs.² While some patients may obtain betterrelief from the newer anti-inflammatory drugs than from aspirin,a recent study has confirmed the effectiveness of enteric coatedaspirin with little risk of gastrointestinal complications.³In the same issue of the BMJ as the editorial, John Weil andcolleagues report that they found no risk of peptic ulcer bleedingwith enteric coated aspirin.⁴ Their three references to possiblesmall bowel problems with aspirin failed to show any such problemswith enteric coated aspirin, although the possibility exists.

Specialist in internal medicine Portland, OR 97205, USA

Charles M Grossman