The devastation of the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic is well known, but an article suggests a surprising factor in the high death toll: the misuse of aspirin. The published article sounds a cautionary note as present day concerns about the novel H1N1 virus run high.
High aspirin dosing levels used to treat patients during the 1918-1919 pandemic are now known to cause, in some cases, toxicity and a dangerous build up of fluid in the lungs, which may have contributed to the incidence and severity of symptoms, bacterial infections, and mortality. Additionally, autopsy reports from 1918 are consistent with what we know today about the dangers of aspirin toxicity, as well as the expected viral causes of death.
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Chapter: Aspirin ::
20 June 2010
