High risks adverse events associated with usage of aspirin in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

BACKGROUND: Despite potential benefits and widespread prescription of aspirin among chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients, limited research has investigated its adverse effects (AEs) in COPD population. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of adverse drug events (ADEs) reported in the US Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) between Q1 2013 and Q2 2022. COPD patients were categorized into two groups based on aspirin use. ADEs related to aspirin use were identified using combined reporting odds ratio (ROR), proportional reporting ratio (PRR), information component (IC) methods. RESULTS: A total of 56,660 ADEs reports associated with COPD patients were included in the study. Among these reports, 144 adverse events were linked to aspirin use in COPD patients, including fatigue (4.12%), diarrhea (3.13%), dyspnea exertional (2.03%), rhinorrhea (1.99%), weight increased (1.89%) and vomiting (1.84%), muscle spasms (1.79%), cardiac disorder (1.74%), heart rate increased (1.69%) and peripheral swelling (1.59%). Subgroup analysis indicates that age and gender might affect the AEs frequency in COPD patients using aspirin. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings identify 10 most frequently reported ADEs associated with aspirin use in COPD patients, thus offer valuable insights into the AEs of aspirin for safer clinical utilization in COPD management.