Acute acetylsalicylic acid poisoning: treatment with forced alkaline diuresis and diuretics

101 patients were treated for acute acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) poisoning in the Nephrological Unit Trondheim between 1971-1975. On admission 33 of them had a serum salicylic acid (SA) concentration greater than 400 microgram/ml (mean 588 +/- 40 microgram/ml). This group was compared with a group of 11 children less than 5 years old with ASA poisoning and a mean serum SA on admission of 550 +/- 34 microgram/ml. Blood pH on admission was normal or elevated in all patients more than 12 years old (mean 7.43 +/- 0.01), whereas 7 of the 11 children suffered from metabolic acidosis. The results of forced alkaline diuresis produced by loop diuretics (bumetanide, furosemide) in ASA poisoned patients older than 12 years are reported. The mean T 1/2 of SA was 9.6 h in the treated group as compared to 18-22 h in untreated patients. There was no apparent difference between the diuretic effect of bumetanide and furosemide.