Aspirin-Exacerbated Respiratory Disease

Aspirin remains a widely used drug, perhaps more widely used in modern times for cardiovascular purposes than as an analgesic. People with Aspirin-Exacerbated Respiratory Disease (AERD) commonly have symptoms such as swelling of the mucosa of the sinuses and nasal membranes, polyps, and asthma. There is often cross-sensitivity with NSAIDs. Symptoms include nasal congestion, rhinorrhoea, and sneezing, as well as lower airways symptoms (laryngospasm, cough, and wheeze). Gastrointestinal symptoms (abdominal pain and nausea) and cutaneous symptoms (flushing and urticaria) may also occur but are almost always accompanied by some degree of respiratory involvement. AERD is acquired, appearing any time from late childhood to adulthood; the median age at onset is around 30 years. About 50% of AERD cases appear after a viral respiratory infection. Most patients with AERD are unable to drink alcoholic beverages without having upper- or lower-airway hypersensitivity reactions. Read a comprehensive review here.