Low-dose Aspirin Causes Small Bowel Injury

Low-dose acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) is widely used for the prevention of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events. Mucosal breaks were caused due to low dosage of aspirin. These breaks occurred in the upper and lower gastrointestinal tract. Mechanism of drug induced small bowel damage may be due to decrease in blood flow.

A research article published on January 14, 2011 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. The authors investigated the relationship between low-dose ASA-induced small bowel mucosal damage and small bowel blood flow, and also evaluated the preventive effect of rebamipide against small bowel damage and the effect of rebamipide on blood flow.

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The results indicated that low-dose ASA-induced decrease in small bowel blood flow is correlated with small-bowel mucosal injury. Rebamipide does not decrease small bowel blood flow.

This study may represent a future strategy for therapeutic intervention in the treatment of patients with low-dose aspirin-induced small bowel mucosal damage.

Source-Eurekalert

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