[Enteric-coated aspirin does not reduce the risk of gastrointestinal side effects]

Enteric-coated aspirin has been developed in order to decrease the risk of gastrointestinal side effects. When reviewing the existing literature on the effects of the coating on the incidence of gastrointestinal side effects we find that enteric-coated aspirin causes significantly less minor gastrointestinal lesions compared to plain aspirin evaluated by endoscopy after short-term treatment, but there seems to be no effect of enteric-coating on the incidence of dyspepsia or gastrointestinal bleeding of clinical relevance. In conclusion enteric-coated aspirin is not superior to plain aspirin.