Bufferin in the Management of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Since ancient times, the salicylates have occupied an important place in the physician's armamentarium as analgesics and antipyretics. Extracts of willow bark, containing the glycoside salicin, were used in the treatment of fever by the physicians of Hippocrates' day. MacLagan, in 1876, demonstrated the clinical value of salicylates in rheumatic fever, and today acetylsalicylic acid continues to be the mainstay of medical therapy of the rheumatic diseases, despite the advent of the corticosteroid hormones and corticotropin (ACTH). Although in general the of acetylsalicylic acid is low, gastrointestinal intolerance may become a real problem in the clinical management of rheumatic disease where relatively large doses are required over long periods of time. This is the most common and troublesome form of toxicity encountered in clinical practice and consists of epigastric distress, heartburn, nausea, and sometimes vomiting. The incidence of such intolerance is variously reported to occur in from 3% to