According to the findings of a phase II trial, using aspirin in the treatment of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) has no effect on oxygenation index or other physiological outcomes.
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| Image: Woman Taking Aspirin | InStyleHealth |
Patients with ARDS from five intensive care units in
the UK were included in the study. For a maximum of 14 days, they were randomly
assigned to receive enteral aspirin 75 mg or placebo, stratified by vasopressor
demand.
The trial was called off early due to sluggish
recruitment, with only 49 patients out of a total of 60 being enrolled.
Twenty-four were given aspirin and the other twenty-five were given a placebo.
The aspirin group had a higher baseline APACHE II
score (24.4 vs 22.0) and a lower vasopressor demand than the placebo group
(58.3 percent vs 40 percent) (54.2 percent vs placebo 64 percent). The most
common cause of ARDS was pneumonia, while the placebo group had more
sepsis-related ARDS than the aspirin group (20.8 percent vs 40 percent).
However, because the sample size was smaller than expected, the differences
were said to be a result of chance.
At day 7, there was no difference in oxygenation index
between the aspirin and placebo groups (unadjusted mean, 54.4 vs 42.4,
respectively; mean difference, 12.0, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], –6.1
to 30.1; p=0.19).
Other respiratory physiological parameters, as well as
aspirin, had no effect on the secondary outcomes. The number of adverse events
that occurred (13 in each group; odds ratio, 1.04, 95 percent CI, 0.56–1.94;
p=0.56) also did not differ significantly across groups.
The findings indicate that, in its current form, a
bigger trial of is not possible.
Source: Chest 2021;10.1016/j.chest.2021.11.006