ASPIRIN LINKED TO CHILDREN'S DISEASE

There is growing concern in the medical profession about a link between aspirin and a rare but sometimes deadly children's disease called Reye's Syndrome.

In the last six years, Government agencies have released studies and issued guarded warnings, hoping to alert the public to the potential danger without causing undue alarm. But as each new case of Reye's Syndrome is recorded, the pressure builds on Government agencies to take stronger action.

The American Academy of Pediatricians has now decided to issue its own warning to its 23,000 members. Its June issue of Pediatrics, the academy's technical journal, will advise members not to prescribe aspirin or aspirin compounds to children suffering influenza symptoms or chicken pox. The recommendation, similar to those issued by the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, is based on evidence linking 137 cases of Reye's Syndrome to children who were administered aspirin in previous bouts with flu or chicken pox.

Ralph Nader's Health Research Group and the American Public Health Association have expressed concern with the way the Food and Drug Administration is exercising its regulatory authority. The two groups have individually petitioned the F.D.A. to require warning labels on children's aspirin, and both have threatened legal action if the agency does not respond by Friday.