Occult gastrointestinal bleeding due to aspirin: comparison of two compounds.

Occult gastrointestinal bleeding as measured by the faecal 51Cr-labelled red-cell loss was compared in eight healthy volunteers while on therapeutic doses of soluble aspirin and a new slow-release formulation of aspirin (Deskoval). While both preparations led to increased faecal blood loss, this was significantly less during administration of Deskoval than when soluble aspirin was taken.