The American journal of medicine
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May-Hegglin anomaly is a rare hereditary condition characterized by the triad of thrombocytopenia, giant platelets, and inclusion bodies in leukocytes. Clinical features and the pathogenesis of bleeding in this disease are poorly defined. ⋯ The diagnosis of May-Hegglin is easily missed, and its frequency is probably underestimated. A qualitative defect of platelets may be responsible for mild bleeding diathesis even in the absence of thrombocytopenia, while severe bleeding results from both qualitative and quantitative platelet defects. May-Hegglin anomaly should be suspected whenever a patient has a low platelet count or a bleeding diathesis of unknown origin.
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Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) continue to be used very widely in the community. Their use reflects the significant burden of rheumatic disease on the general population, and they form a basis for the treatment of inflammation in and around the joint. Furthermore, NSAIDs are also being used increasingly for nonrheumatic conditions, including acute and chronic pain, biliary and ureteric colic, and dysmenorrhea. ⋯ NSAIDs play a major role in the management of acute and chronic rheumatic diseases, but their use needs to be tempered with the realization that they can cause potentially serious adverse reactions. These side-effects can be reduced by careful attention to the dose and duration of therapy, concomitant risk factors, and the combined use of more specific drugs to reduce disease activity. Furthermore, the gastrointestinal side-effects of NSAIDs may be treated and prevented by using appropriate therapy in combination with NSAIDs.
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Nonaspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are among the most frequently used drugs in many countries. Use of the majority of NSAIDs increases with age, primarily for symptoms associated with osteoarthritis and other chronic musculoskeletal conditions. Population-based studies have shown that, on any given day, 10-20% of elderly people (> or = 65 years old) have a current or recent NSAID prescription. ⋯ Many studies have now shown that NSAIDs increase the risk of peptic ulcer complications by 3-5-fold, and in several different populations it has been estimated that 15-35% of all peptic ulcer complications are due to NSAIDs. In the United States alone, there are an estimated 41,000 hospitalizations and 3,300 deaths each year among the elderly that are associated with NSAIDs. Factors that increase the risk of serious peptic ulcer disease include older age, history of peptic ulcer disease, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, dyspepsia, and/or previous NSAID intolerance, as well as several measures of poor health.
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Salicylic acid and salicylates, obtained from natural sources, have long been used as medicaments. Salicylic acid was chemically synthesized in 1860 and was used as an antiseptic, an antipyretic, and an antirheumatic. Almost 40 years later, aspirin was developed as a more palatable form of salicylate. ⋯ It is therefore attractive to suggest that the anti-inflammatory actions of NSAIDs are due to inhibition of COX-2, whereas the unwanted side-effects, such as irritation of the stomach lining, are due to inhibition of COX-1. Drugs that have the highest COX-2 activity and a more favorable COX-2: COX-1 activity ratio will have a potent anti-inflammatory activity with fewer side-effects than drugs with a less favorable COX-2: COX-1 activity ratio. The identification of selective inhibitors of COX-2 will therefore lead to advances in therapy.