Comparison of serum salicylate levels and gastro-intestinal blood loss between salsalate (Disalcid)and other forms of salicylates.

In a first stage the effect of a single dose of 3 g of salsalate on serum salicylate level was compared with a single intake of 3 g of soluble or enteric-coated acetylsalicylates in 12 healthy subjects. Salsalate seems to resorb faster than the enteric-coated forms but more slowly than the soluble forms of acetylsalicylate. However, in comparison with these latter forms, salsalate activity is more protracted. In the second part of the study, 42 patients were admitted to a trial in which 3 to 5 g of salsalate was given daily and in which serum salicylate levels and blood loss in stools were measured using the method of labelling red blood cells with Cr51. The ideal dosage to obtain a serum salicylate level of 20 mg/100 ml seems to lie between 3 and 4 g of salsalate a day. Salsalate caused abnormal gastro-intestinal blood loss in only 2 of the 42 patients studied, which is significantly fewer compared with the soluble, intravenous or enteric-coated forms of acetylsalicylates.