A procedure for measuring gastric bleeding caused by drugs

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like aspirin and ibuprofen are widely used but can cause gastrointestinal side effects.
• Quantifying drug-induced gastric bleeding is crucial for understanding NSAID safety profiles.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of single-dose aspirin and ibuprofen on gastric bleeding rates.
• To introduce and validate a novel method for measuring gastric blood loss.

Main Methods:

• Seven subjects received daily doses of aspirin, ibuprofen, or placebo over five days.
• Gastric lavage was performed three times daily to collect samples.
• Blood loss was chemically quantified, adjusted for gastric emptying, and reported as ml/day.

Main Results:

• Aspirin significantly increased gastric blood loss on day 1 (median 2.7 ml/day) compared to placebo.
• Ibuprofen did not result in a significant increase in gastric bleeding.
• The developed method demonstrated sensitivity to detect bleeding rates as low as 0.01 ml/day.

Conclusions:

• Single-dose aspirin can induce significant acute gastric bleeding.
• Ibuprofen appears to have a lower risk of acute gastric bleeding compared to aspirin.
• The described methodology provides a precise tool for evaluating drug-induced gastric bleeding.