Pancreatitis as a novel complication of aspirin therapy in patients with aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease

Since 1922, when this syndrome was originally identified by Widal,1 and 1967, when it was further described by Samter and Beers,2 the clinical efficacy of aspirin desensitization and ongoing aspirin therapy has been well established.3 Aspirin desensitization is a procedure whereby patients receive increasing doses of aspirin, usually to a dose of 650 mg, over 2 to 3 days. [...]cases of pancreatitis during or shortly after aspirin desensitization have likely been classified erroneously as gastritis, given the relatively high prevalence of gastritis in chronic users of high-dose aspirin or other NSAIDs.11 To better elucidate the association between pancreatic inflammation and aspirin desensitization in patients with AERD, we will prospectively examine the effect of high-dose aspirin on the pancreas in patients with AERD undergoing desensitization.