Aspirin intolerance. I. Frequency in an allergic population

Abstract

The frequency of intolerance to aspirin in a total population of asthma and/or rhinitis was 89 out of 3,781 or 2.4 per cent. In the asthmatic group, the frequency was 4.3 per cent. Those asthmatics with negative allergy skin tests had significantly more aspirin intolerance (6.8 per cent) than did those with positive skin tests (3.5 per cent) (p < 0.01). The frequency of intolerance to aspirin increased with advancing years (1.4 per cent for those under 20 years of age compared to 6.3 per cent for those 50 years of age or over). In those patients with rhinitis alone it was 0.7 per cent, a significantly lower value than found in those who had both asthma and rhinitis, 4.5 per cent (p < 0.001). Of the 89 patients, 59 or 66 per cent reported bronchospasm, 29 or 33 per cent reported urticaria, and 9 or 10 per cent reported rhinitis after ingestion of aspirin. Bronchospasm was the primary manifestation of aspirin intolerance in patients with known asthma, while the manifestations of urticaria were the predominant symptom of patients with known rhinitis (alone). It is important to compare the characteristics of an aspirin-intolerant group to that of the population from which it is selected. © 1974.