The impact of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug-induced gastropathy.

Gastric and duodenal injury related to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use is extremely common, and a variety of strategies can be employed to reduce this frequent side effect of an otherwise useful category of medications. Although the best approach may be to discontinue NSAID treatment, this is not always possible for patients with arthritis pain or for those who require low-dose aspirin therapy for underlying cardiovascular disease. In arthritis cases, one of the new cyclooxygenase-2 specific inhibitors can be used to replace a traditional NSAID, but the addition of another drug to treat and heal ulcers is normally still needed. Patients taking aspirin are also candidates for additional treatment.