According to findings published in Frontiers in Pharmacology, the use of aspirin (ASA) was correlated with a lower 28-day mortality rate in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP); however, a dosage of 325 mg/day did not provide additional benefits over 81 mg/day and may prolong ICU stays.

The authors wrote, “Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a common infectious disease characterized by inflammation of the lung parenchyma in individuals who have not recently been hospitalized. It remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Aspirin is a widely used drug, often administered to CAP patients. However, the benefits of aspirin remain controversial.”

The primary objective of this observational retrospective cohort study was to ascertain if ASA treatment was associated with a protective effect on the outcomes of patients diagnosed with CAP.

The researchers reviewed and gathered medical information of patients diagnosed with CAP, employing data from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV database. They utilized propensity score matching to balance variances between groups and a multivariate Cox regression analysis to evaluate the impact of ASA on 28-day mortality.

The study cohort comprised 3,595 patients, with 2,261 patients receiving ASA and 1,334 not receiving ASA. After propensity score matching, 1,219 pairs were analyzed, and results revealed that the 28-day mortality rate for aspirin users was 20.46%, which was lower than that of nonusers. Additionally, multivariate Cox regression analysis demonstrated that ASA use was correlated with reduced 28-day mortality (hazard ratio, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.63-0.88; P <.001).

The authors wrote, “There were no significant differences between the 325 mg/day and 81 mg/day aspirin groups in terms of 28-day mortality, hospital mortality, 90-day mortality, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, and thrombocytopenia. However, the ICU stay was longer for the 325 mg/day group compared to the 81 mg/day group (4.22 vs. 3.57 days, P = 0.031).”

Based on their findings, the authors concluded that ASA was associated with diminished 28-day mortality in patients with CAP, and 325 mg/day aspirin does not provide additional benefits over 81 mg/day and may lead to extended ICU stays. The authors also noted that additional randomized clinical trials are warranted to support their findings.

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