ASPIRIN - BENEFIT AND RISK IN THROMBOPROPHYLAXIS

Aspirin is often perceived either as a harmless panacea or as a useles s poison which causes endless, needless trouble. We have carefully rev iewed the literature on all aspects of aspirin and find that neither v iew is justified. Regular use of even low-dose aspirin (150 mg/day or less) may lead to clinically-important adverse events, particularly ha emorrhage. The risk of such an event is considerably outweighed by the benefit for patients with a significant risk of a thromboembolic even t. For individuals without a clear risk of thrombosis or thromboemboli sm, the balance is more even: indiscriminate aspirin-taking is to be d iscouraged.