Reye's Syndrome.

The author defines and discusses Reye's syndrome and the hypotheses relating to its causes and associating its incidence with that of chickenpox and influenza A and B. The recent decline in the incidence of Reye's syndrome appears to be related to the reduced use of Aspirin in children and adolescents. Although evidence so far is circumstantial, North American P(a)ediatric Associations have indicated that Aspirin should not be used to control fever in children who have viral infections but especially in children suspected of having chickenpox or influenza A or B.