Acetylsalicylic acid

Generic Name: Acetylsalicylic acid

Brand Names:

Availability: Available with Prescription

Drug Class: Non steroidal anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAID)

Therapeutic action

  • Analgesic, antipyretic, non steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) 
  • Platelet antiaggregant (at low dose)

Indications

  • Mild pain, fever
  • Secondary prevention of severe pre-eclampsia

Forms and strengths

  • 300 mg tablet
  • 75 mg enteric coated tablet

Dosage and duration

Pain and fever

Adolescent over 16 years and adult: 300 mg to 1 g every 4 to 6 hours (max. 4 gdaily), for 1 to 3 days

Prevention of pre-eclampsia:

75 to 150 mg once daily from the 12thto the 36th week of gestation. Stop treatment 5 to 10 days before the expected date of delivery.

Contra-indications, adverse effects, precautions

  • Do not administer to patients with allergy to aspirin and NSAID, gastroduodenal ulcer, coagulation disorders, haemorrhage, severe renal, hepatic or cardiac impairment.
  • Do not administer to children for pain or fever (use paracetamol). 
  • Administer with caution to older patients or patients with asthma.
  • Do not exceed indicated doses, particularly in older patients. Intoxications are severe, possibly fatal
  • May cause:
    • allergic reactions, epigastric pain, gastroduodenal ulcer, haemorrhage; 
    • dizziness, tinnitus(early signs of overdose);
    • Reye’s syndrome in children(encephalopathy and severe hepatic disorders).
  • For all cases above, stop aspirin.
  • Do not combine with methotrexate, anticoagulants or NSAID.
  • Monitor combination with insulin(increased hypoglycaemia) and corticosteroids.
  • Pregnancy:
    • pain and fever: avoid. CONTRA-INDICATED from the beginning of the 6th month. Use paracetamol.
    • prevention of pre-eclampsia: do not exceed 150 mg daily.
  • Breast-feeding: avoid. Use paracetamol.

Remarks

Take during meals, preferably with a lot of water. Do not crush enteric coated tablets.

Aspirin may be administered in secondary prevention of atherothrombosis, at a dose of 75 to 300 mg daily.

Also comes in 500 mg tablets and 300 mg dispersible tablets.

Storage

– Below 25 °C

Do not use if tablets have a strong smell of vinegar. A slight vinegar smell is always present.