Acetylsalicylic acid

This article is a stub, meaning that it is unfinished. It will eventually be expanded.

Acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) is technically an NSAID, although it’s more frequently used as an antiplatelet rather than for its anti-inflammatory effects. It’s a very frequently used antiplatelet.

ASA is given in much lower dose for use as an antiplatelet drug than when used as an anti-inflammatory. Antiplatelet dose is 50 – 150 mg/day and in an extended-release formulation (Albyl-E®) while anti-inflammatory dose is 500 mg/day (Aspirin®). ASA has no anti-inflammatory effect in these low antiplatelet doses (although it does have an antiplatelet effect in the anti-inflammatory dose).

One can monitor ASA therapeutic effect with platelet aggregometry with arachidonic acid, but this is not routinely performed. There are no known uses for this, as a therapeutic reference range has not been established.