ASPIRIN AND REYE SYNDROME - with Marcela Omahen, MPharm., Spec.

The first day at home from the hospital I spent mostly stressing about meds. Trying to make it right. Ten times per day. Between 6am and midnight. Barely awake on each end.

This maddening tempo eventually slowed down. Many drugs were taken out. And new came along. With blood-thinning Aspirin being the only constant.

Then I read somewhere it can cause Reye syndrome, a rapidly progressive encephalopathy* with liver dysfunction.

Marcela Omahen, MPharm., Spec. is a pharmacist specialised in clinical pharmacy, hospital and health care. She explains:

It often begins several days after apparent recovery from a viral illness, especially chickenpox (varicella) or flu (influenza A or B). Therefore, most cases occur in spring or winter. It is characterized by vomiting and confusion, rapidly evolving to seizures and coma.

The complication is associated with high doses of Aspirin when used against fever.

Some studies suggest that even though the incidence of Reye syndrome is rare, monitoring of hepatocellular* function should be considered in children who are receiving long-term Aspirin therapy.

*ENCEPHALOPATHY is a medical term used to describe a disease that affects brain structure or function. It causes altered mental state and confusion.

*HEPATOCELLULAR - relating to or involving liver cells