Double-blind crossover study of the effect of acetylsalicylic acid on bleeding and post-operative course after bilateral oral surgery

Summary

Acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) was tested against placebo in a double-blind crossover study, in which essentially the same operation was performed twice on 23 healthy patients who required surgical removal of bilateral “identically” impacted wisdom teeth. On the evening before one operation they received ASA 1.0 g (Globentyl^®) followed by ASA 2.0 g daily for the next 3 days, and at the other operation placebo tablets. A number of objective and subjective parameters were recorded for paired comparison of the pre-, per-, and post-operative courses, including bleeding, pain, wound-healing, and preference. Tests of platelet aggregation before each operation indicated whether or not ASA had been taken. Pre-operative bleeding time was significantly increased (from 4.4 to 6.9 min) by ASA, as well as the per-operative blood loss (about 30%), and the post-operative bleeding tendency. Episodes of profuse post-operative haemorrhage were reported by 5 patients, always after the operation for which ASA had been given. ASA also significantly promoted the occurrence of ecchymosis and haematoma. The pre-operative bleeding time was not a reliable predictor for these complications. The drug was very well tolerated with respect to side effects such as abdominal discomfort. The post-operative pain scores were neither reduced nor increased significantly by ASA, and the preference scores were not in favour of the drug. The present patients were all young and denied any previous bleeding disorders; nevertheless, ASA resulted in post-operative haemorrhage, ecchymosis and haematoma formation in several cases.