Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug prescribing: past, present, and future.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, including aspirin, are now among the most widely prescribed medications in the world. They have a long and fascinating history, with the use of aspirin derived from willow bark stretching back into the Assyrian culture. In the twenty-first century we are faced with both the challenge of balancing the benefits and side effects of these drugs and the exciting prospect of new, safer agents with comparable efficacy.