NSAID-Induced Gastroduodenal Damage. Prevention and Treatment Round Table at the 2nd Congress of the Mediterranean Society of Clinical Pharmacology. 9th National Congress of the Italian Society of Clinical Pharmacology, Venice, October 1991: Proceedings. Supplement Issue: Digestive Diseases 1995, Vol. 13, Suppl. 1

In the USA alone, more than 100 million prescriptions for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are written each year. However, despite their therapeutic effectiveness, adverse side effects to the gastrointestinal tract - from nonsymptomatic bleeding to life-threatening ulceration and hemorrhage - are so common that NSAID-induced gastropathy has been described as "an emerging epidemic." Because most NSAIDs induce gastrointestinal damage via the same prostaglandin-inhibitory mechanism that provides their anti-inflammatory properties, no NSAID is completely devoid of side effects.;In this collection of articles, international experts critically review the epidemiology and clinical features of NSAID-induced mucosal damage, the putative mechanisms behind the injuries, and potential approaches to preventing and treating them. Drawing together a large volume of widely dispersed information, these papers should enable clinicians and general practitioners to make well-informed and rational choices for the prophylaxis and therapy of NSAID-induced damage.