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When administered on a chronic high-dosage regimen, enteric-coated aspirin granules produced significantly less gastric damage than plain aspirin or aspirin-antacid combinations. Clinically meaningful damage occurred in all subjects receiving plain aspirin, 93% of those receiving aspirin-antacid combination and only 27% and 20% of those receiving enteric-coated aspirin granules qid and bid, respectively. All three aspirin formulations were taken as 1 g qid (4 g/day) and an additional group received enteric granules administered as 2 g bid (4 g/day). Gastric damage was assessed by means of endoscopy carried out after seven days of treatment. Enteric granules are equally safe when administered on a bid or qid regimen (at same total daily dosage) and, in a bid regimen, should provide a compliance advantage for patients on high-dose therapy for diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.

The use of prostaglandins (PG) increasingly replaces the "classical" method of induction of labour by means of oxytocin and amniotomy, the last-named method being associated, especially in women with an unripe cervix, with side effects like prolonged labour and a higher rate of obstetric surgery. In this study the point of interest was whether prostaglandins offer any advantages over the classical method in respect of efficacy and maternal and foetal tolerance. 99 patients subdivided into primiparae and multiparae were randomly assigned to group A or B. In group A labour was induced with 1 mg resp. 2 mg PGE2 intravaginally at an interval of 6 hours. In group B the method of induction consisted of intravenous oxytocin and amniotomy. The success rate of induction was almost equal in both groups. However, in those patients where PGE2 induction did not succeed and who could not be delivered within 12 hours the cervical score was significantly improved in comparison to the oxytocin group. Based on the experience reported in the literature, one might speculate that an increased dosage could still improve the results of vaginally administered PGE2 gel.