[Transport of salicylates from blood to joint fluid (author's transl)]

Samples of blood and joint fluid from thirty patients who had taken acetyl-salicylic acid were examined for occurrence of salicylates. The data were arranged in groups according to the diagnosis of the joint disease and did not show significant differences in the kinetics of salicylates into blood; the time of the first appearance averaged 6.4 minutes, and levels "close to maximum concentration" averaged 23 mg/l. In joint fluid, the time of first appearance of salicylates ranged from 10 to 31 minutes, and levels of maximum concentration of salicylates averaged 14.8 mg/l. Transport of salicylates from blood to joint fluid showed a pattern consistent with the type of joint disease. Support was found for the assumption that diffusion was the major factor in the movement of salicylates from blood to joint fluid.