Prescription of aspirin in recent acute painful disorders: results of a survey among French general practitioners

• Published in: Therapie Vol. 62; no. 6; p. 477
• Main Authors: Bannwarth, Bernard, Allaert, François-André, Dubreuil, Christian, Allain, Hervé, Azerad, Jean, Becq, Jean-Philippe, Trèves, Richard, Valade, Dominique
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: French
• Published: France 01.11.2007
• Subjects: Acute Disease; Adult; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal - therapeutic use; Aspirin - therapeutic use; Drug Utilization; Family Practice; Female; France - epidemiology; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Pain - drug therapy; Pain - epidemiology; Pain Measurement; Prospective Studies; France
• ISSN: 0040-5957
• DOI: 10.2515/therapie:2007075

To analyse recent acute painful conditions for which general practitioners (GPs) would prescribe aspirin. Prospective observational study investigating GPs' prescription of aspirin to adult patients with acute pain of < or =5 days of duration. Pain intensity was graded on a 100 mm visual analogue scale (VAS) prior to and at the 48th hour of aspirin therapy. 4765 patients (53.9% males), aged 42.6 +/- 14.7 years, with recent acute pain (2.2 +/- 1.2 days) were enrolled. Aspirin was prescribed at a mean daily dose of 3g, for musculoskeletal pain (40.8%), headaches and/or migraine (30.7%), ENT pain (23.2%) or dental pain (9.5%), some patients having complained of different types of pain. Pain relief was assessable in 3793 patients (79.6%). In this population, pain intensity was reduced by 65% within 48 hours, from 63.5 +/- 16.7 mm to 22.2 +/- 17.1 mm on the VAS. The rate of responders (decrease > or =75 % on VAS) was 39.6%; however it varied markedly across the different painful disorders. Our survey suggests that GPs may prescribe aspirin for acute pain states similar to those for which they prescribe over-the-counter non aspirin non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.