Analgesia alert

January 2003    Volume 10, Issue 1   Br J Cardiol 2003;10:74-6

Authors:
John K Inman

The mode of action of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and the role of the cyclo-oxygenase enzymes COX1 and COX2 and their inhibitors is described. These can have potentially serious effects on the cardiovascular and renal system which are discussed.
The alternative, widely-prescribed analgesic, paracetamol, is also discussed, as are two theories ‘confounded by indication’ and ‘protopathic bias’ to help explain why paracetamol is sometimes described as being linked to asthma and upper gastro-intestinal damage, both effects not expected from a knowledge of its mode of action.

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